The link between cancer and stress

Posted by Karen Degen on 9th December 2013

Tags: adrenaline, cancer, cortisol, depression anger, diseases, heart attack, stress

Scientific papers have now documented the connection between stress and many diseases, including heart attacks and cancer.  Emotional states such as panic, hostility, depression, and anger all contribute to heart attack risk.  The link between cancer and stress is particularly interesting, and has been shown in much research.  But a recent study found receptor sites on the outside of cancer cells for adrenaline, indicating a straight-line biochemical link between stress and tumours.  When we’re stressed, our bodies are flooded with cortisol and adrenaline, and this study found that cancers grew 275% faster in stressed mice than in unstressed mice.  The scientific consensus is that only 5% to 10% of cancers are hereditary; the rest are due to environmental factors, including stress.

(The above is from the book The Genie In Your Genes by Dr Dawson Church – highly recommended reading.)