Stress and Breast Cancer: Is There a Link?

In case you experience some pressure or demand on your body, mind, or emotions that causes tension or distress, you are bound to react in some way or the other. Let’s understand as to how stress can be a risk factor for breast cancer. 

There are several queries hidden within the concept of breast cancer. Does stress cause breast cancer to progress? Does reducing stress make a difference? To have a better clarity on each of these queries, consult the set of leading oncologists at Fortis Hospitals, renowned to be one of the best cancerhospitals in India.

What is stress?

Life is full of opportunities for stress. Here’s a list of common life events that trigger stress responses:

·         Loss of a closed one

·         Divorce of one’s parents

·         Loss of job

·         Workplace conflicts

·         Economic crisis

·         Severe illness

·         Family and personal relationships

Can Stress cause Breast Cancer?

It may seem natural to associate negative emotions with breast cancer, but researches have shown that your body may be more vulnerable to cancer due to stress. It is thought that stress may affect your nervous, endocrine and immune systems. Chronic stress may lead to weakening your immune system, leaving with less resistance to disease.

Can Stress cause Breast Cancer to recur?

It appears that stress is a bad idea for people who have had breast cancer. From a biological point of view it would make sense that stress could stimulate breast cancer to grow or spread. In a fairly large study, women with some types of breast cancer lived longer if they participated in mindfulness stress reduction activities. To end it all, we know that stress can cause insomnia and it’s dangerous for people having cancer.

Stress and living with cancer

There’s an old joke that the only people who have no stress are those who dwell in graveyards. But you really can’t exclude stress out of your life, right? Though it’s still hasn’t been established that stress causes cancer, but it can certainly lessen your quality of life.