Steve’s Dreams and His Cancer

“Steve” is a 58-year-old mechanical engineer, with a wife and two college-age sons, whom I have been working with for many years as his psychoanalyst. Several months ago he reported to me that he had been diagnosed with the beginning stage of prostate cancer after receiving the results of a biopsy, which was indicated when his PSA level (a measure of onset of cancerous activity in

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the prostate gland) rose from 6 to 7.5. His urologist referred him to a cancer clinic for a total bone scan and a sonogram of his pelvis to find out if the cancer had spread. The tests proved that it had not. Steve was encouraged by the test results, and by the facts that the Gleason score (a system of grading prostate cancer) from his biopsy was 5 (8 and above is considered high risk for cancer) and that his cancer was microscopic and contained in the left lobe of his prostate. This placed him in a “watchful waiting” position.

“I am determined to lick this,” said Steve. “My brother died from cancer of the prostate that went undetected until it was too late.” Steve went on to report a dream he had after his urologist called him to tell him the results of his biopsy. In the dream he was in the middle of a barren field at night. All around him were poisonous snakes and menacing puppet heads with sharp teeth, peering out of holes, ready to strike. His dream ended with his moving with step-by-step caution to escape from the dangerous field.

I asked him what his dream meant to him. Steve responded, “I think the poisonous snakes and menacing puppet heads represent the cancer cells in my body. My dream is telling me to leave no stone unturned, to find out everything I can about prostate cancer and the treatment of it, and to move cautiously in my war against cancer.”

Steve’s dream reminded me that ancient Greeks believed gods would come and visit them in their sleep. They built more than 300 shrines, to which they applied the motto “Know thyself,” to serve as dream oracles. Men and women went to the shrines to find out what their dreams foretold. The sick would go to the shrines in search of cures by their dreams interpreted by priests. Roman history was affected by dreams. Allegedly, divine dream encouragement prompted Carthaginian general Hannibal to make his epic journey in 200 BCE across the Alps with elephants. Other cultures around the world also respected the power of dreams. In the seventh century, Muhammad founded the Islam religion after dreaming that he was commanded to preach. As centuries passed, dreams began to be dominant themes in literature, art, music, and science in many cultures. During the Romantic Age, the dreams of Beethoven and Chopin influenced them to compose passionate scores that opened the door to new concepts in music. In 1845, Friedrich Kekule, a German chemist, had a dream about intertwining snakes that helped him to understand the molecular structure of benzene, which led to the development of plastics, many petroleum by-products, modem synthetic drugs, and explosives. In 1846, Elias Howe had a nightmare about a primitive tribe chasing him with spears that had holes in them, which inspired him to design a proper needle for his invention of the sewing machine. Still, people were no closer to a scientific meaning of dreams until Sigmund Freud wrote his masterpiece Interpretation of Dreams (1900) in which he unveiled tire mystery of dreams as unconscious motivations to resolve emotional conflicts.

For centuries people have been known to predict illness in dreams and to dream about improved health before it comes. This was a truth for Steve, too. Just as he said he would, after his dream he set to work researching alternatives for curing his prostate cancer. In the meantime, a new biopsy was requested by the clinic. Steve was eager to have it done, because he was sure that he had arrested his cancer with a new diet he had adopted. “I know I’ve been successful,” Steve told me, “because I’ve had no more dreams like the first one. If I do, I’ll look for my dreams to guide me to the next avenue for recovery.”

Unfortunately, the new biopsy indicated that Steve had not arrested his prostate cancer. In fact it showed that the cancer was aggressive and that it had spread; his Gleason score had risen to 7. Steve was devastated by this news. He began to dream about his condition again. He had two significant dreams that he recalled in sessions with me.

In the first dream he was hurrying out the back door of his house to go to a dental appointment. He was stopped at the door by a former neighbor, a man Steve’s age whom had moved to another state and whom Steve and his wife believed had died. The neighbor kept delaying Steve with polite conversation that was making Steve anxious that he would miss his appointment with the dentist. Steve’s believed that this dream was a “death dream”—a warning that death was at his door, and that he should not delay seeking treatment though it would involve risks, including possible impotency.

A few nights later Steve had a second dream that had even deeper significance to him. He dreamed he was in a movie theater watching a movie. Coming forward on the screen were two naked men, one partially hidden in shadow by the other. The men walked closer to the camera and Steve exclaimed in the dream, “How can they

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show such shocking things in movies!” Then a new scene emerged that replaced the two naked men. It was of a grey stone column like those found in parts of Europe, which are memorials to the Great Plague of the Middle Ages. The column was carved with the heads of men crowded together and with their erect penises next to their faces. The column had fallen over and was nearly touching the ground.

To Steve, this dream represented the genetic roots of his cancer. He realized that the two men in his dream were his brother, who died of prostate cancer, and his father (partially hidden in the dream), who was killed by a falling beam while working at a construction site when Steve was a child. From the dream, Steve believed that if his father had lived, he, too, would have had prostate cancer. Thus, Steve was convinced that cancer of the prostate was in his genes. He also believed that the fallen column represented the thousands of men who die every year from prostate cancer.

After these dreams Steve set to work to find a treatment plan. He met with prostate cancer specialists and attended prostate cancer support groups recommended by the American Cancer Society. Through this research, he found out that not one of the prostate cancer treatment options available today is better than the others and that they all involve risks. He chose a three-stage treatment plan involving hormonal therapy, radiation seed implants, and external radiation.

Steve is not afraid. He is hopeful because when prostate cancer is treated early and contained, there is a 100 percent chance of recovery over the next five years. In addition, his doctors predict for him a life expectancy up to 20 years after treatment. Steve believes he found direction from powerful, meaningful dreams that led him to emotional and physical well-being while living with the threat of cancer.

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