A 27-year-old member asked:
Can ovarian cancer get worse with stress and/or nervousness?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Philip Rosenblumanswered
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.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A Verified Doctoranswered
Pathology, Anatomic and Clinical 51 years experience
Stress and Cancer: You might want to read ==>http://www.Scientificamerican.Com/article.Cfm?Id=does-stress-feed-cancer. At least in this one study, the investigators concluded that chronic stress can "feed" cancer cells and help them grow. This is controversial, but, as a general rule of thumb, it is best to address the stressors and seek some kind of relief, if possible, although living with cancer is very hard.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Similar questions
A 28-year-old member asked:
Can ovarian cancer get worse with nervousness or stress?
2 doctor answers • 7 doctors weighed in
Dr. Devon Websteranswered
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.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Dec 10, 2012
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