The women were asked what they believed caused their cancer and why they believed they had survived the disease. The questionnaire did not prompt the women to select their answers from a list of options. They were allowed to pick more than one factor for each question. It wasn't a forced choice. On the question of cause, stress was named by 42 per cent of the women.
People think stress causes everything.
She said there have been some studies linking stress to suppression of the immune system and one small study that suggests women in breast cancer support groups are less likely to suffer a recurrence of the disease. The evidence for stress is pretty low. A psychologist who works with breast cancer patients was not surprised that the study suggests women believe factors other than the standard medical explanations are at play with breast cancer. Dr. Ross Gray works at Toronto Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre. In his work with cancer patients, many cite stress as a leading cause of their disease.