A new health breakthrough has found a definitive link between stress and prostate cancer. Men, especially those at a higher risk of the often fatal disease, should aim to reduce the amount of stress in their lives.
For a while we’ve known that prostate cancer patients have increased levels of stress and anxiety. But add to this the results of several recent studies: they found that men who take drugs that interfere with adrenaline, a stress hormone, have a lower incidence of prostate cancer. In other words, block the stress and block the cancer.
In a new issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers examined the relationship between stress and cancer progression in mice. They discovered that mice that are subjected to stress (in this case, exposed to the scent of a predator) responded significantly less to a drug that kills cancer cells, compared to mice under no stress.
Administering adrenaline also blocked cancer cell death. The flip side was also true. Drugs that worked against adrenaline signaling heightened the effect of stress on prostate cancer.
PLUS: Meditation’s amazing ability to lower inflammation as well as stress
All this is to say that there is a good deal of suggestive evidence that stress and anxiety put men at greater risk of prostate cancer. It is imperative, for many reasons, for everyone to try and reduce stress in their lives. It is one of the world’s most prevalent causes of disease.
Meditation, yoga, massage therapy, exercise, soothing teas, a healthy diet, hydrotherapy and acupuncture are some good so-called “alternative” ways to limit stress.
Sources for Today’s Articles:
Prostate Cancer Thrives on This Common Condition
Hassan, S., et al., “Prostate cancer cells thrive on stress,” Journal of Clinical Investigation January 25, 2013.