We've all heard stories of remissions and miraculous healing brought about by faith. Christian faith, belief in a higher power, it doesn't seem to matter.

If you believe that you are being healed, that you have some mystical power on your side, it seems to help your body heal itself. But then perhaps that's the secret - belief in yourself.

Whatever the case, researchers at the University of Missouri are out to prove the theory.

"Spirituality has been found to be an important cultural factor for African-American women thinking about their health, so we evaluated its impact on breast cancer information processing," said Glenn Leshner, associate professor of radio-television in MU's School of Journalism. "We found that spirituality positively affected African-American women's willingness to talk about breast cancer, pay attention to information about breast cancer and engage in preventative measures."

Some of the things a woman has to face with breast cancer make it difficult to hold on to belief. However, I'm thinking we should all give faith a try. It can't hurt, and we just might bring about a miracle.