If you struggle with stress and continually put off finding healthy ways to manage it, you could be making it easier for cancer to spread throughout your body. Researchers have discovered that when mice are exposed to chronic, ongoing stress, their lymphatic systems undergo physical changes that facilitate the spread of cancer in their bodies. This finding should be a wake-up call about the significant impact stress may have on other diseases and aspects of your health.
Stress and the Lymphatic System
Scientists already knew that stress hormones could increase blood vessel formation, giving cancerous cells more potential escape routes. However, it was not clear whether they also influenced the lymphatic system. To assess this theory, mice were restrained to create stress. The researchers found that the stressed mice had a higher rate of cancer spread than their relaxed peers, and demonstrated that this was because the stress hormone adrenaline was activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) to increase the rate of lymph formation.
More surprisingly, the stress hormone physically changed the lymph vessels draining out of tumors, enabling cancerous cells to escape to other parts of the body more rapidly. According to Erica Sloan from Monash University in Australia, “Not only do you get new freeways out of the tumor, but the speed limit is increased and so the tumor cells can flow out of the tumor much more rapidly.”
Potential Treatments and Healthy Stress Management
A drug that shows promise for slowing the spread of cancer due to stress is a beta blocker called propranolol. Over seven years, patients taking beta-blockers showed far less evidence of tumor cells moving into the lymph nodes and then disseminating to other organs such as the lungs. However, it’s important to note that some beta-blockers can cause and worsen heart problems, and even congestive heart failure. Any decision to use this medication should be carefully considered by both the patient and doctor.
As we learn more about the physical effects of stress on disease, health, and our bodies through research, it may be time to change how we perceive stress. For many people, it’s a minor annoyance; for others, such as those suffering from cancer, it’s a huge burden. Learning how to manage stress in a healthier way is best done when it doesn’t have such a stronghold on you.
Breathing Exercises to Reduce Stress
Breathing exercises have been used for centuries by Indian yogis to calm the mind, relax the body, and restore health. Adopting this daily practice that takes just minutes a day could have positive health benefits that extend from peace of mind to possibly preventing disease. To learn more about using this breathing technique to improve your health, click here for a demonstration video.
Exercise, Diet, and Cognitive Therapies
Other healthy and effective ways to manage stress include regular exercise, a balanced diet, and cognitive therapies such as meditation, mindfulness, and therapy sessions with a trained professional. Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise like swimming, running, and cycling, has been shown to help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. A balanced diet plays a critical role too. Consuming whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates can help balance blood sugar and hormones, which can reduce the stress response.
Meditation and mindfulness techniques have also proven to be powerful tools for managing stress. They encourage present-moment awareness and promote relaxation while quieting ruminative thought patterns. In therapy sessions with a trained mental health professional, individuals can identify triggers for their stress and develop personalized coping mechanisms to alleviate it.
Conclusion
The connection between stress and the spread of cancer in mice should serve as a reminder of the importance of finding healthy ways to manage stress in our everyday lives. Whether it’s through breathing exercises, regular exercise, a balanced diet, or cognitive therapies, taking steps to reduce stress not only improves our emotional well-being, but may also benefit our physical health and potentially minimize the risk of disease.
