Stress Can Lower Your Lifespan… With Cancer!
We are beginning to understand that stress is actually deadlier than smoking or even drinking alcohol!
Stress Can Lower Your Lifespan… With Cancer!
We are beginning to understand that stress is actually deadlier than smoking or even drinking alcohol!
Once brushed off as old-wives tales, new studies are highlighting the dangers of how stress can lead to the formation of cancer cells in our body.
And it all starts with how chronic stress increases metastasis in our body.
What is Metastasis?
Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body.
Cancer cells break away from the primary tumor and travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to form new tumors at different parts of the body.
The new tumors, called metastatic tumors, are composed of the same type of cancer cells as the primary tumor. Metastasis is the most dangerous aspect of cancer and a major cause of cancer-related deaths.
The Study Involving Mice
Researchers were interested to know the correlation of stress and cancer development. To do this, they started with genetically engineered mice
These mice were modified with breast cancer cells implanted in their bodies, and underwent what researchers called “restraint stress”, in which their movements were restricted.
What the researchers found was that these stressors caused the lung environment of these mice subjects to increase in metastasis, causing them to have an elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. The researchers noted that this elevated ratio was caused by stress in both mice and humans.
The researchers found that chronic restraint stress caused tumors within the mice to double in size!
Why Stress Is So Dangerous For Cancer Patients
As if cancer patients didn’t have to worry enough about their diagnosis, this study suggests that the act of stressing out about their own cancer can actually speed up the spread of tumors in their body.
Stressing out about a cancer diagnosis can cause a feedback loop which makes the cancer in your body even deadlier than necessary.
Chronic stress releases cortisol in humans (corticosterone in mice), which binds to neutrophil-glucocorticoid receptors and accelerates metastasis in the body.
The researchers found that by deleting this receptor, they were able to bring down the stress levels, as well as how much the stress impacted the spread of cancer in the body.
What This Means For You
It is important to have our priorities straight: are your deadlines and projects more important than your life?
Many people today have become embroiled in hustle-culture, and are victims of overachieving and overworking.
Like Barbara O’Neill and many experts have said: paying attention to what your body tells you is important in the long run, and can mean life or death.
It is important to listen closely to your body and realize when you are putting too much stress on yourself.
Reversing Cancer
Eating clean, unprocessed whole-foods are one of the easiest ways to keep stress at bay, as processed foods are usually the biggest culprits of health scares.
Physical activity, even small tweaks in your daily lives, can reap many benefits. Exercise increases serotonin, endorphin and dopamine levels in your body, which counteract the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.
Lastly, it is important to be kind to yourselves and to others.
Source:
Cell: Chronic stress increases metastasis via neutrophil-mediated changes to the microenvironment
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