The healing powers of the island

[allergygal]

I was thinking about Ben's tumor (assuming it actually is Ben's) and why he wasn't healed by the island. Some speculation is that it's because he's on a different island, but I don't subscribe to that. If his tumor is that far advanced, he'd probably have some pain or other symptoms that would have noticably disappeared when he's visited the main island. And if so, he surely would have taken up residence on the main island. This, of course, assumes he and his group really are on an alternate island (not sure I believe Ben about that).

So my theory is that the island heals ailments that people have when they come there, not things that happen to them while they're there. For example, Locke can walk and Rose's cancer is in remission -- both were preexisting conditions. But, Boone died from injuries sustained in a fall, Anna Lucia and Libby died from gunshot wounds, etc. -- things that happened on the island. Sawyer survived his gunshot wound, but it certainly wasn't a miraculous, so I think that was just normal survival and recovery.

I couldn't find where this had been discussed before, so hopefully I'm not covering something that's already been talked about.

[sickotriz]

just pasting my comments from this thread in the Cost Of Living board:

Originally Posted by see kate run

I think that Ben does have a tumor. And for the same reason that Rose could not be healed by Isaac, the Island can not heal him. I think that certain people are healed in certain places and some are not. Here is alittle snippet of Rose and Isaac's conversation :

Isaac - There are certain places with great energy -- spots on the Earth like the one we're above now. Perhaps this energy is geological -- magnetic. Or perhaps it's something else. And when possible I harness this energy and give it to others. May I?
He puts his hands near Rose's face and closes his eyes. He suddenly opens his eyes, looking disturbed.
Rose - What? What, what is it ?
Isaac - I'm sorry. I can't do anything for you, Rose.
Rose - I didn't expect you to. [Rose goes to a window and looks out at Bernard talking to a young girl on crutches.
Isaac - It's not that you can't be healed. Like I said, there's different energies. This is not the right place for you.
Rose - Where is the right place?


So although Rose could not be healed there, Ben cannot be healed on the Island.

THANK YOU for bringing this up. This is a scene that I think is a big clue about the nature of the island's "healing powers" that people tend to disregard, and I can't figure out why. The island didn't heal Shannon's asthma, it didn't heal Sawyer's nearsightedness, and the only healing of injuries sustained ON ISLAND that it seems to have played any part in has been the healing of Locke's leg after the blast door incident. This leads me to believe that so far, the island seems to actively have an affect on Locke, and no one else (Rose and Jin are arguable).

I do believe that the island is the "Right Place" for some, and not so much for others. Yet, viewers claim "!inconsistency!". Yes, it is inconsistent by nature!

Originally Posted by Rondaben

I read through this whole thread and I was surprised that no one mentioned that Benry lives on a different island (supposedly) than the losties. Maybe HIS island doesn't heal?

We saw at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities that the Others' village is on the main island that the Losties crashed on. This new small alcatraz-like island that the Hydra Station is on is somewhere else, and is likely just one of the places where the Others do their work. Where they live seems to be a small modern-looking village on the big island.

[allergygal]

Originally Posted by sickotriz

...The island didn't heal Shannon's asthma, it didn't heal Sawyer's nearsightedness...

Ah, I forgot about those! Okay, my theory is blown
I'd have to agree then, that it the whole mystery of the healing powers of the island relates back to what that healer told Rose.