Does Your Stress Make the Cancer Grow?

by Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S.

People ask me these questions all the time: "Did I get cancer because I've been under such stress and my immune system went on the blink?" "Did I get breast cancer again because I am stressed?" "Did my breast cancer treatment not work because I'm so upset?"

Well, we now have the results of research that may provide some long-awaited answers to these questions. Already known was the fact that levels of the stress hormone epinephrine rise significantly in response to stressful situations and depression.

Now, a published study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine reports that elevated levels of epinephrine cause changes in prostate and breast cancer cells that may make them resistant to cell death, a dangerous trait in cells that become cancerous. This implies, the researchers say, that emotional stress may contribute to the development of cancer and may reduce the effectiveness of cancer treatments.

While a direct link between stress and cancer has been suggested before, results of studies involving large groups of people have been mixed. Some answers may still lie here, though. The researchers refer to previous research from Canada in which men who took beta blockers for high blood pressure for at least four years had an 18 percent lower risk of prostate cancer.

These drugs block the action of epinephrine, which may explain the lower cancer incidence. Other studies on men after they've had prostate surgery found they suffered from increased mood disturbances, which are associated with elevated stress hormones.

Now scientists are looking at breast cancer cells in this same way, examining in more detail the link between stress, cancer growth, and resistance to treatment.

Even if we don't have firm answers, it can't hurt to err on the side of stress relief. So, ladies, relax, unwind, take a yoga class. Go see a funny movie and laugh a lot. Don't sweat the small stuff and get help dealing with the big stuff.

Tell me your thoughts on this. Do you think stress plays a major role in who gets breast cancer and who responds best to treatment?