Hemingway once wrote that courage is grace under pressure. But I would rather think with the 18th-century Italian dramatist, Vittorio Alfieri, that "often the test of courage is not to die but live." For living cancer en- genders more than pressure; it begets terror. To live with it, to face up to it--that’s courage. Hope is our most effective "drug" in treating cancer. There is almost no cancer (at any stage) that cannot be treated. By instilling hope in a patient, we can help develop a positive, combative attitude to his disease. Illogical, unproven Perhaps. But many doctors believe that this must become a part of cancer therapy if the therapy is to be effective.