Can Stress Really Cause Cancer?

Research showed that people who have been through a traumatic event in the previous one or two years are more frequently diagnosed with cancer . Much is still unknown about the origins of cancer however there is the distinct possibility that it is an illness that has a long incubation period.

What this mean is that if you have been exposed to carcinogenic substances in your 20s, cancer may not develop until some 30 to 40 years later. This certainly seems to be true in the cases of people who have developed asbestos related cancers in later years, long time after the initial exposure to asbestos.

However in the presence of extreme stress, trauma or loss illness may develop at a much faster rate. From what is known about the effects of stress on the immune system it seems very likely that the ‘stress’, in whatever form dramatically weakens the immune system function allowing the process of disease to develop more rapidly.

The problem with chronic or severe stress is that it encourages the production of adrenal hormones which in turn lower the levels of white blood cells within the body placing an individual at increased risk of infection.

Stress in all its forms, depression, anxiety, shock, results in the poorer function of the immune system.

Having said that, many people who experience stress never go on to develop cancer or other chronic diseases – there are many things that can contribute to illness, and often it’s a combination of factors that tip health into sickness. This is why it is vital that we fully understand that WE ARE NOT TO BE BLAMED FOR OUR ILLNESS – in no way did they cause the disease or ask for this to happen. If you’ve entertained these intrusive thoughts, refer to my book The New Cancer Paradigm and you’ll discover why you can’t possibly have done so.

Everyone experiences a varying degree of stress throughout their lives and some of the calmest and most content people develop cancer. There is no one ‘type’ of person who develops chronic disease.
Blaming yourself for your illness is counter-productive and sadly there are some things that happen in life that we all just have to accept as unfair.

Accepting things as they are does not mean giving up in any way; it simply means not wasting valuable energy fighting the wrong thing. It’s true that at times you can’t fix the cancer, but that’s not what need fixing.

Which leads us to ask which emotions may be aggravating your disease? The effect of stress in all its forms on the body is well documented (see one resource here) but we can also add to the list hopelessness, helplessness, worry, internal or buried rage, chronic low self-esteem, frustration, fatigue, hostility, blame and guilt.

Sometimes we know we are running negative emotions over and over in our heads, we know it is not doing us any good but we continue. Maybe a pattern has become ingrained? Maybe our thought patterns have become a habit? Hypnosis can help you to address these negative painful emotions and harmful patters, track them down and deal with them and by doing so help you to move forwards in the best way possible as you heal. By Avinoan Lerner