Staff of the Inna Foundation pay great attention to research that studies the factors in the development of cancer. The connection between smoking, unhealthy eating, and some others has been fairly well studied. But the effect of stress on the development of cancer is still controversial.
Even 50 years ago, scientists assumed that stress could contribute to the development of cancer. It was believed that severe events for a person (war, death of loved ones or a sharp change in living conditions) caused biochemical changes in the body that provoked the growth of malignant tumors. However, the long-term scientific activity of geneticists, psychologists, and oncologists today cannot confirm this statement 100 percent.
The article, published on the specialized scientific website Live Science, provides an analysis of studies on the impact of stress on the development of cancer. Acute stress, scientists say, is perfectly normal and helps us respond to dangerous situations. The body’s response to stress turns on the sympathetic nervous system and triggers the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. As a result, the key stress hormone, cortisol, is released. Thus, the stress response helps a person to survive in a dangerous situation. But this feature of the body is favorable only for a short period of time.
But constant stress or chronic stress is dangerous! This condition leads to changes in the body’s metabolism, increased levels of certain hormones, and shortening of telomeres, the caps at the ends of DNA that prevent cell damage. Thus, the constant release of stress hormones can cause DNA damage and weaken the immune system, which is designed to fight cancer cells. This is especially dangerous for people who have cancer which is in a “sleeping state” at the earliest stage.
Therefore, it is important to carry out rehabilitation measures. Distract yourself by reading a book, watching a funny movie, taking a walk in the fresh air, chatting on pleasant topics with friends. And then, according to scientists, the risk of developing cancer is reduced to a minimum!