Stress, which is another name for psychological stress, is the state that people go through when they are under emotional, bodily, or mental strain. People’s everyday duties and routines, such as those related to jobs, family, and finances, can give birth to stressors, which are variables that might induce stress. External variables such as early life adversity, exposure to certain environmental conditions, poverty, prejudice, and imbalances in the social determinants of health are examples of additional stressors. Stress can also be brought on by serious health problems, such as learning that one has cancer or that of a close friend or relative.
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Stress hormones, such as adrenaline and norepinephrine, are released by the body in response to external stresses, raising blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. Known as the fight-or-flight reaction, it enables a person to react more quickly and powerfully to flee a perceived threat.
Can a stressful environment lead to cancer?
It’s unclear if chronic stress and cancer are related, even though it can cause a wide range of health issues. Research done thus far has yielded a range of findings. As an illustration, comparable research did not detect a correlation between occupational stress and prostate cancer risk, but a case-control study including Canadian males did find one. Prospective research involving over 100,000 women in the UK found no correlation between perceived stress levels or negative life events in the five years before the study and the risk of breast cancer.
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There was no correlation between the incidence of breast cancer and social support, optimism, acute and chronic stresses, or other emotional traits in a 15-year prospective analysis of Australian women who were at higher risk of breast cancer due to familial history. Stress was linked to an increased risk of lung cancer in a 2008 meta-analysis of 142 prospective studies involving individuals from Asia, Australasia, Europe, and the United States. The incidence of lung, colorectal, and oesophagal cancers was also shown to be associated with occupational stress, according to a 2019 meta-analysis of nine observational studies conducted in Europe and North America.
There is no connection between job stress and the incidence of lung, colorectal, breast, or prostate cancers, according to a meta-analysis of 12 cohort studies conducted in Europe.
What effects does stress have on cancer patients?
Chronic stress may make cancer worse (progress) and spread (metastasize), according to data from lab research on animal models and human cancer cells cultured in the lab (9–11). According to one research, for instance, mice with human cancers were more likely to experience stress and have their tumours grow and spread when they were confined or kept apart from other mice.
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According to research conducted in laboratories, norepinephrine, which is generated by the body during the fight-or-flight response, promotes metastasis and angiogenesis (10). Additionally, this hormone may stimulate neutrophils, which are immunological cells. Neutrophils can “awaken” latent cancer cells and, in some situations, protect tumours from the body’s immune system, which aids in their growth.
The production of glucocorticoids, a class of steroid hormones, is another possible outcome of chronic stress. Glucocorticoids may promote metastasis and treatment resistance while also inhibiting apoptosis, a kind of malignant cell death. They could also make it more difficult for the immune system to identify and combat cancer cells. While certain research has indicated a worse chance of survival for cancer patients who are under stress, there is still insufficient data to conclude that stress has a direct impact on survival.
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How can cancer patients learn to manage their stress?
Social and emotional support can help patients manage their stress and lessen symptoms associated with their illness and treatment, such as anxiety and depression. Better clinical outcomes for breast cancer patients and reduced levels of stress-related chemicals that may accelerate the growth of ovarian cancer tumours have been associated with social support. Among cancer survivors, exercise can also help lessen symptoms of depression and anxiety. Individuals who are under a lot of stress following a cancer diagnosis might wish to speak with their physicians about being sent to a suitable mental health provider.
Expert groups advise using a distress scale or questionnaire to check all cancer patients as soon as possible after diagnosis, throughout treatment, and after recovery. Under the supervision of a mental health professional, treatment for severe distress, depression, and anxiety may involve psychotherapy, antidepressants, or other medications. Treatment selection needs to be individualized, ideally the result of collaboration between the patient and the medical professional.
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Researchers are looking at cutting-edge psychotherapy techniques to help cancer patients with their depression symptoms. A customized psychotherapy intervention was proven to lessen depressive symptoms in randomized clinical trials and may help delay the onset of depression in patients with advanced illness. In an additional randomized clinical study, the effectiveness of two distinct mindfulness-based cognitive therapy strategies in lowering psychological distress in cancer patients was compared to standard care.
Both therapies improved mental health-related quality of life, mindfulness practices, and positive mental health while lowering distressing
factors like fear of a cancer recurrence. Anxiety, despair, and existential anguish associated with cancer may benefit from psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, according to preliminary findings from a renaissance of scholarly study on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances.
Summing Up
Since ancient times, stress-related variables have been connected to the beginning and development of cancer. Galen, the Greek physician, noticed that women who were depressed were more likely to get cancer than those who were happy. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the advent of cancer was frequently linked to significant life disturbances, emotional anguish, despair, and loss of hope.
Dr James Paget stressed that mental disorders and cancer were linked, with the development and spread of cancer frequently occurring after significant worry, postponed hope, and disappointment. Parker established the link between mind and body in 1885 by highlighting the physiological effects of emotion. However, medical emphasis has turned away from the emotional component and the dearth of stress management resources due to the focus on physical procedures like radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy.’
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References +
- What is the relationship between stress and cancer? https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2019/07/what-is-the-relationship-between-stress-and-cancer
- Surviving Cancer https://med.stanford.edu/survivingcancer/cancer-and-stress/stress-and-cancer.html
- Stress and Cancer https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/feelings/stress-fact-sheet
- The interplay between stress and cancer-A focus on inflammation Vignjević Petrinović et al. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1119095/full
- Relationship between Stress and Cancer? https://www.careinsurance.com/blog/health-insurance-articles/breaking-the-silence-is-there-any-l ink-between-stress-and-cancer
- Stress and cancer. Part I: Mechanisms mediating the effect of stressors on cancer Author links open overlay panelBoris Mravec a b et al.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165572820300035
