Stressful event years before diagnosed?

Hi oceangirl,

From what I've read there definitely seems to be a high probability that stress and cancer could be correlated. For me, my 20 year marriage started to fall apart seven years before my diagnosis, ending with a divorce two years before the diagnosis. During that time I also switched jobs and moved--can you say STRESS? Who knows for sure though? For now I try and meditate regularly and not let things bother me, otherwise I get stressed about stress

This theory is unpopular but I also believe you need to have something to live for. I believe our body chemistry responds to thoughts (thats why cognitive behavioural therapy is so effective) and I think that I kept going for my daughter but 2 years before diagnosis she got engaged and was very busy with career and I realized I was done running her life :-) It had been my focus to survive grief and I no longer had a purpose. I am developing one now...hopefully not too late.

Yes, my life was very stressful from about 2007 until dx in 2013. It seemed like one thing after another and I do believe that stress played a part in my cancer.

oh yeah, right on the money. Dad very sudden, but long mental illness and death began in 2006. Dx in 2014.

Ihave zero doubt the stress is to blame for the catalyst.

Four years for me, too early? Interesting as I have also thought there was a connection. I wonder how many of us who feel stress may be a contributor tend to bottle things up? I have always been one to bury the stress and find something happier.

Sjacobs, I think it's just human nature to wonder why. I don't think any of us are blaming ourselves-I know I'm not, but the mind is a very powerful thing. I tend to think it can get us through tough times but maybe when the stress is too much the equilibrium breaks down. I believe there is a scientific reason why some get cancer and others don't including the aspect of emotion, stress and spirituality-it's just not discovered yet. I don't think this thread was started to blame our lifestyle for getting cancer, I think it's to explore if any of us feel a connection between maybe something that happened that we were unable to cope with and a possibility this affected our body's defence. I sense anger from you at the thought that some of us feel that maybe when our 'soul' (for lack of better word) suffered, maybe our bodies did also. I enjoy exploring everyone's opinion even if I disagree. Let's face it, even the most educated scientists don't understand.

SJacobs, I think the hostility you're showing to people who have a different take on things than you is inappropriate and doesn't belong on this thread. If you see a thread that doesn't suit you why not leave it alone? I don't think you would appreciate it is someone essentially said to you "You're an idiot for thinking that way".

Sajacobs, I know for sure stress caused my BC. My mom was diagnosed with TNBC , breast cancer 3 yrs back and I was her primary care taker in terms of her treatment plan. I was innocently ignorant of BC world ,until my mom was diagnosed as there was zero family history The stress and helplessness I experienced during the initial stage esp negativity on TN cancer, I don't wish that on my worst enemy.Each time she went for a scan , which was schedule with 3 months duration , I could physically feel energy depleting from my body. Finally I ended up diagnosed with my own BC ordeal last year .

I know for sure , I have no doubt stress was contributing factor in my case. I agree with Wrenn , if you don't believe in an opinion you have choice to stay clear from that particular post.

Do I think stress alone causes cancer? No

Do I think stress can be a factor? Yes

I know they've found a link between inflammation and cancer.

I also know they have found a link between chronic stress and inflammation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/chronic-stress-health-inflammation-genes_n_4226420.html

In the end....who knows?

It sure is interesting to compare information though. That's the great benefit of discussion boards.

Pass the ice cream!!

kayb, I was thinking the same thing when I read your previous post. I was actually ready to click. :-)

I have definitely considered the stress angle. My family has been under a lot of stress lately.

I was less than thrilled to see an article the other day that said introverts have a much higher chance of getting cancer than extroverts. I was like 'f--k', now I have to blame it on my personality? But seriously, I think it is interesting how people need to blame something. In my experience, most want to blame diet. But I see people who obviously have terrible diets all the time. But I am not blaming anything. I am not going to blame it on my cell phone or my deodorant or my personality. I have enough to think about dealing with the cancer. Could I make some positive diet changes in my life? Of course. Am I going to blame myself? Nope.

No, don't misunderstand me. I don't doubt stress can be a factor. I just meant I am not going to blame myself for something I did or did not do. I will never know so what's the point? (for me) I think my energy is better spent taking care to make sure I get better. I am not saying to ask the question is a mistake.

I don't read any anger or hostility into sjacobs post. She uses the "s" word, but that really doesn't mean anything these days

This is almost impossible to prove in a trial which is probably why it is not one of the questions we answer at the doctors office for putting us in high risk. I've answered questions about family history alcohol use whether I've had any pregnancies and even age of first menstruation but never anything related to a stressful lifestyle. I've read about a view that people under stress make lifestyle choices that could potentially put them at a higher risk such as through excessive alcohol consumption or smoking but that seemed a little silly to me as this really is not representative of our population here on BC org. In any case this is not something that can be proven or disproven easily with a scientific trial.

Here is what I also know and think: as mentioned in previous posts cancer cells exist in everyone's body but the immune system takes care of them. Something went wrong in each of us where our bodies could not stop this and eventually tumors were formed. This also puts us at high risk for the same thing reoccurring regarding rogue cancer cells that may have remained in our bodies after treatment from our existing tumors or even completely new ones. So it only makes sense for us to take better care of ourselves, know when we are tired and give our bodies a rest physically and emotionally. It cannot be purely stress but stress could very well be a factor that depressed our bodies' defense mechanism. I watched a documentary (old one I think) on stress on netflix and it's pretty scary what it can do. I don't believe you need to have a traumatic event for stress that depresses the immune system necessarily, this documentary showed that chronic stress due to multitasking is in fact one of the biggest contributors to stress and premature aging internally. I don't know about you girls but I multitask every day, in fact it is one of the performance indicators for many office jobs today and I can say that I am a high performer in that regard. Our bodies probably gave warning signs before one way or the other if we were under stress that affected out immune system to the point where it could be a factor. I have three aunts that had breast cancer (and have survived by the way) and each had lichen skin disease which is thought to be related to issues with the immune system, in the years before they formed breast tumors. I did not have this but it's interesting to me.

Long story short, think stress is a factor but does not have to be a single traumatic event in my opinion, and we should all be watching our bodies carefully to see if we show any signs unrelated to cancer that could indicate our body has reached a limit. I don't mean to say we brought this upon ourselves at alland it could very well be dumb luck that our defense mechanisms did not function as well as others. All I am saying is that as this is not going to be proven one way or the other, it makes sense we try to be aware about this going forward and play it safer. Many of us don't have the ability to make drastic changes in our lifestyle, but I guess we can give it a try to take a break when we see signals. Surely can't be bad right?