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A 28-year-old member asked:

Can ovarian cancer get worse with nervousness or stress?

2 doctor answers7 doctors weighed in
Dr. Devon Webster
Medical Oncology 24 years experience
Possibly: There are not clinical trials that answer this question because it is hard to study. Stress hormones are adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol can dampen your immune response and allow tumors to grow more easily, while adrenaline can increase tumor growth and spread. I believe stress can cause cancer to get worse, but i can't show you a study that proves it.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Ricardo Estape
Gynecologic Oncology 32 years experience
No: Although stress can alter some of the immune system factors, it is probably not enough to make the cancer get worse. However, lower stress, which is hard when cancer enters your life, can surely help. Let the doctor's fight the cancer with you and you should enjoy life, every day.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.

Similar questions

A 27-year-old member asked:

Can ovarian cancer get worse with stress and/or nervousness?

2 doctor answers5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Philip Rosenblum
Family Medicine 30 years experience
Stress never helps: There is little scientific evidence that stress is actually physically harmful, and i would imagine that it would be difficult to design such a study. Having said that everybody knows someone whose medical problems seemed to get worse because of stress. I would advise you to minimize your stress levels, if possible. Your circumstances are out of your control. The key is how you handle them.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Last updated Oct 23, 2017

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