Can Stress Cause Cancer?

Everyone suffers a certain amount of stress throughout their life and there has been a lot of  articles in the media relating to stress and its effect on ones health. There is evidence to suggest that stress can cause health problems such as ‘high blood pressure’ and stomach ulcers, but studies carried out on cancer and stress have been inconclusive. One scientific study concluded that high stress levels can actually reduce the risk of breast cancer, by lowering oestrogen levels.

The studies compliled that have attempted to link stress and cancer had unreliable designs, i.e, including relatively small numbers of participants, and when participants were prompted to answer questions regarding their stress levels prior to their diagnosis of cancer, the answers given were not considered to be totally reliable as people tend to exagerate their experiences after an event. Also – what may appear stressful for one person may not seem that stressful for another. Therefore it is difficult to define stress as a definate causal factor.

Note: Although there is no conclusive evidence to link stress and cancer – Stress can lead people to make unhealthy lifestyle choices such as turning to food for comfort and overeating, (particulary high fat fast foods) smoking, and drinking too much alcohol to try and cope with the stress. There is evidence that unhealthy lifestyle choices can have a detremental affect on ones health – including cancer.