CANCER: ROLE OF SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS

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Many researchers claim that social and psychological factors play a major role in determining whether a person gets cancer. Stress has been implicated in increased susceptibility to several types of cancers. By reducing stress levels in your daily life, you may, in fact, be reducing your risk for cancer. A number of therapists have even established preventive treatment centers where the primary focus is on “being happy” and “thinking positive thoughts.” Is it possible to laugh away cancer?
Although orthodox medical personnel are skeptical of overly simplistic prevention centers that focus on humor and laughter as the way to prevent cancer, we cannot rule out the possibility that negative emotional states contribute to disease development. People who are under chronic, severe stress or who suffer from depression or other persistent emotional problems appear to have a higher rate of cancer development than their healthy counterparts. Whether due to sleep disturbances, diet, or a combination of factors, the body’s immune system may become weakened, increasing the susceptibility to cancer.
Although psychological factors may play a part in cancer development, exposure to substances such as tobacco and alcohol in our social environment are far more important. The American Cancer Society states that cigarette smoking is responsible for 30 percent of all cancer deaths – 87 percent of all lung cancer deaths. Heavy consumption of alcohol has been related to cancers of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, and liver. These cancers show up even more frequently in people whose heavy drinking is accompanied by smoking. The negative effects of smoking are not just concerns for the active smoker. Environmental (passive) tobacco smoke (ETS) causes an estimated 3,000 deaths from lung cancer, 40,000 deaths from heart disease, up to 300,000 respiratory problems, and countless deaths among nonsmokers. Cancers of the mouth and throat pose significant risks for smokers.
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