What is the Relationship between Stress and Cancer?

Posted by Cancer Center at Wise Regional on August 29th, 2019

Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the body with the potential to invade surrounding areas while stress is the body's physical, mental, and emotional reaction to any change.

Research shows there is an association between stress and cancer. A constant state of stress can lead to the risk of cancer and its progressive growth in the body. Chronic stress creates a hub where cancerous cells can grow and flourish. What is the relationship between stress and cancer?

•    Fight and Flight –Natural stress response is called “fight and flight” reaction; this takes place when the body encounters a suspected threat. The threat makes you scared, causing the body to produce adrenaline, cortisol, and other hormones. Adrenaline leads to a rise in heart rate and blood pressure while cortisol, when triggered, can cause an increase in blood sugar. If your fight and flight system does not shut off, you might have an overreaction causing inflammation. Inflammation causes a rise in the risk of development of health conditions such as anxiety, depression, heart problems, and cancer.

•    A perfect storm – Stress leads to conditions such as ulcers and Crohn's diseases, which cause chronic inflammatory. Inflammatory bowel disorders can lead to colorectal cancer. These diseases attack healthy cells in the body by mistake, creating an environment where cancer cells can grow and thrive. High-stress cancer patients tend to have a hard time during treatment and recovery, making the tumor grow aggressively.

There is a negative relationship between stress and cancer. When you already have cancer, stress tends to weaken your mindset and make it difficult for your body to respond positively to treatment. For you to live longer, you need to stay stress-free and eat healthy. This will keep your immune system healthy and lower the risks of diagnosis with certain types of cancer.

About Author

North Texas Cancer Center at Wise, a division of Choice Cancer Care, is now operating as the Cancer Center at Wise Regional and is one of the most renowned cancer treatment centers in Texas.