Mental State and cancer

Mental state and stress are definitely linked to cancer
Depression is linked to cancer. Theres a factual explanation.
People who are depressed have lowered plasma oxygen levels. And people who have low plasma oxygen develop more cancers. Not surprisingly then, people who are depressed develop more cancers.
Stress is linked to cancer. There are factual explanations.
Stress is known to cause the production of hormones like epinephrine and cortisol in the body. These turn on an enzyme called Cox-2 which is present in every cell of your body. Cox-2 causes the cells to become inflamed and, for example, is known to play a direct role in colorectal cancer.
Chronic inflammation is the precursor to almost all chronic illness, especially cancer - Sir John Vane won a Nobel Prize for showing that turning on Cox-2 causes the production of inflammatio-causing localised hormones called eicosanoids. Yale Professor Tian Xu showed that these localised inflammatory hormones affects two cancer-causing genes.
Go To The Four Pillars of cancer: Pillar 4 - Stress, mental state and cancer

Chronic Inflammation also helps cancer spread. When you develop cancer, there is an INCREASE in stress hormones such as cortisol. Cancer likes this. The more cortisol, the more Cox-2 is turned on; and the more inflammation. This helps cancer spread.
Active Stress Management increases survival
UCLA have a Department dedicated to studying stress and cancer. In their view, people who actively manage their stress, survive longer. This alone makes a mockery of cancer charities like Cancer Research UK saying stress doesnt cause cancer!
Not surprisingly then, compounds that turn off Cox-2 reduce both inflammation and cancer spread - for example, a small aspirin, omega-3 DHA and EPA, curcumin, resveratrol, ginger and frankincense to name but a few.
Stress also changes the pH levels in your gastrointestinal tract. You know how the loss of a loved one gives you a terrible pit in your stomach, or how stress at work physically upsets your stomach. In both cases, your gut bacteria become upset. One of their many functions is that they produce compounds essential to your good health - some are strongly anti-inflammatory. So stress upsets this, and causes more inflammatory compounds to be produced in the gut.
Other gut bacteria send messages to the brain via chemicals in the blood or via nerves. And vice versa.
Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland under the brain. It tells gut bacteria that it is night time - some have circadian rhythms. They go to sleep and produce 400 times the level of melatonin. It is the largest antioxidant we make as animals, and it is VERY anti-inflammatory. Add these two together and you can understand why sleep is so healing. Melatonin also has huge epigenetic (cancer-correcting) effects.
The Limbic system, the nervous system, and opioids produced by meditation, all affect melatonin production.
Your mind can make you ill; your mind can heal you
There is no doubt in our minds at CANCERactive, some people do carry baggage and it ultimately mages them ill. Sometimes women just need to get things off their chest. Sometimes we have women with breast cancer come to us two years after they lost their mum - a mum who meant the world to them and who was their greatest confidante.
We could go on. You dont want to know why; you want to know what you can do about it. Much is in our section on complementary therapies. But we are about to build a whole section on this area in 2017. It is so important.
Meanwhile you can go to two articles in the drop down boxes above - there will be more. 
Can your mind make you ill? Can it heal you? You bet!
Go To: Stress Management aids cancer survival
Go To: Mental State and Cancer