One NCI-sponsored study suggests that there is no important association between stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one or divorce, and breast cancer risk. However, more research to find if there is a relationship between psychological stress and the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells is needed. One area that is currently being studied is the effect of stress on women already diagnosed with breast cancer. These studies are looking at whether stress reduction can improve the immune response and possibly slow cancer progression . Researchers are doing this by determining whether women with breast cancer who are in support groups have better survival rates than those not in support groups.
Many factors come into play when determining the relationship between stress and cancer.
At present, the relationship between psychological stress and cancer occurrence or progression has not been scientifically proven. However, stress reduction is of benefit for many other health reasons. Cancer, March 15, 1996. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, January 7, 1998.