By David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD,
Author of Anticancer: A New Way of Life

Stress does not cause cancer, but helplessness and social isolation are associated with faster cancer progression. Learning to break through isolation is a key factor in a comprehensive plan to defeat cancer.

Stress does not cause cancer. There is no known biological mechanism through which stress could turn a normal cell into a cancerous cell. In addition, some stress can be "good stress": In rat experiments, those who learn to avoid electric shocks by pressing a lever develop a certain sense of control over their environment -- even if they continue to receive many shocks that they cannot avoid. These rats reject cancerous tumors as well or better as rats that are left alone with no stress at all.

However, prolonged helplessness seems associated with an acceleration of the growth of an existing tumor.

One of the best protections from prolonged helplessness is intimate support. This can be obtained from medical professionals, support groups, friends, or loved ones.

When I asked Mish, a 50 year old woman who had been through a double-mastectomy and several months of a very aggressive chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy what had helped her the most through her journey, she said she wanted to think about it for a few days. Then I received this email from her:

"My husband gave me a card early in my illness, which I pinned up in front of me on my bulletin board at work. I read it frequently. Here is what the card said.

"The cover read: 'Open this card and hold it close to you. Now squeeze.' Inside my husband wrote:

"'You are my everything -- my joy in the morning, (even on the days we don't make love!), my sexy and warm and laughing midmorning daydream, my phantom lunchmate, my building excitement at mid-afternoon, my soothing joy at seeing you when I get home, my workout decompressor, my sous-chef, my playmate, my lover, my all.'

"The card continued, 'Its going to be just fine.' He wrote under that, 'And I'll be there at your side, always.'

'Love, PJ'

"He was by my side every step of the way. His card meant so much to me and buoyed me throughout my journey.

"Since you asked,
Mish"

We don't all have a PJ in our lives! But can all learn to reach out and find a special someone who can help us break through our isolation. David Spiegel, MD, who has worked with metastatic cancer patients in therapy and support groups since the 1970s always reminds them to avoid "the prison of positive thinking." The best emotional attitude in facing cancer is not to "always be positive" but, rather, to strive to be authentic. And that means learning to talk at times about our anger and our fears. So that there may also be room for sharing joy and laughter, when they are real.

Copyright 2008 David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD

Author Bio

David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and cofounder of the Center for Integrative Medicine. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Paris, France. He has been a cancer survivor for 16 years, and is the author of the International Best-Seller Anticancer: A New Way of Life

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