Stress

Key Points

  • Adverse or demanding circumstances, called “stressors”, can disrupt your internal balance and call on your body to activate a stress response.
  • A prolonged stress response can produce a constant bodily imbalance that can be physically damaging.
  • Unmanaged stress can increase the likelihood that the cancer will progress, as well as decrease your quality of life.
  • Almost every category of complementary therapies has some useful stress-management approach.
  • Consider seeing a professional such as a therapist, oncology social worker or oncology navigator to help you explore your stressful situation and identify an approach that is right for you.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines stress as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances."1 Thus, stress is not so much a symptom as it is a state. Those adverse or demanding circumstances, called “stressors”, can disrupt your internal balance and call on your body to activate a stress response. This response is automatic and calls on every bodily system to bring the body back into balance. A certain amount of stress is normal—in fact, we couldn’t survive without the stress response. However, too much  of a stress response over time can be damaging.

The Stress Response and Cancer

A prolonged stress response can produce a constant bodily imbalance that can be physically damaging. Organs and tissues begin to function differently in response to the continual outpouring of stress hormones and chemicals.

A prolonged stress response may compromise health and result in symptoms such as anxiety, depression and insomnia. The immune system is also affected—immune cells become preoccupied with triggering alarm reactions instead of doing their normal duties. With the body’s attention focused on dealing with stressors, the job of finding and killing cancer cells is neglected.2

Under physiologic stress, the number of your neutrophils increases, while the number of lymphocytes decreases.3 Your neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an indicator of stress. It is also a strong predictor of outcomes related to surgery for for breast, lung, and kidney cancers, as shown in these results from a mid-sized observational study:4

  • Higher NLR (3 or 4 or higher) is associated with a higher risk of relapse and perhaps mortality with breast cancer
  • NLR 5 or higher is associated with a higher risk of relapse and mortality with kidney cancer
  • NLR 5 or higher is associated with higher mortality with lung cancer

A prolonged stress response may compromise health and result in symptoms such as anxiety, depression and insomnia.

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Though stress may not cause cancer, it appears that unmanaged stress can increase the likelihood that the cancer will progress, as well as decrease your quality of life.

Managing Stress

Helpsy Health

Even when people are getting the best of cancer treatment, they often feel like they need more help with organizing their care and managing symptoms and side effects. Helpsy empowers members to take control of their health through a real-time virtual nurse support service. This service is available via mobile devices, a Helpsy website and automated phone calls.

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Many tools for taming the stress response are available, many of which you can learn to do for yourself. Almost every category of complementary therapies has some useful stress-management approach. See Managing Stress, use the links in the Related Pages section below, or search our Therapy Summaries database, selecting "Stress" in the Symptoms box.

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Integrative Programs, Protocols and Medical Systems

For more information about programs and protocols, see our Integrative Programs and Protocols page.

Written by Laura Pole, RN, MSN, OCNS, and Nancy Hepp, MS; most recent update on October 21, 2021.

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