Positive Thinking May Protect Against Breast Cancer
ScienceDaily, 08/22/2008
Feelings of happiness and optimism play a positive role against breast cancer. New research suggests that while staying positive has a protective role, adverse life events such as the loss of a parent or close relative, divorce or the loss of a spouse can increase a woman's risk of developing the disease.
Ronit Peled1 from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, led a team of researchers who questioned 255 women with breast cancer and 367 healthy controls about their life experiences and evaluated their levels of happiness, optimism, anxiety and depression prior to diagnosis. Peled said, "Young women who have been exposed to a number of negative life events should be considered an 'at-risk' group for breast cancer and should be treated accordingly".
The researchers do point out that women were interviewed after their diagnosis, which may colour their recall of their past emotional state somewhat negatively. However, according to Peled, "We can carefully say that experiencing more than one severe and/or mild to moderate life event is a risk factor for breast cancer among young women. On the other hand, a general feeling of happiness and optimism can play a protective role".
The authors point out that, "The mechanism in which the central nervous, hormonal and immune systems interact and how behaviour and external events modulate these three systems is not fully understood". As such, they suggest that "The relationship between happiness and health should be examined in future studies and relevant preventative initiatives should be developed".
The German newspaper BILD published this article on August 24, 2008. Please read Dr. Hamer's letter to BILD!
1 BMC Cancer - Research article by Ronit Peled, D. Carmil, O. Siboni-Samocha, I. ShohamVardi: Breast cancer, psychological distress and life events among young women
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Here is our translation of the BILD article into English:
BILD, 08/24/2008
Think positive
Optimism protects against breast cancer
Women with a positive attitude to life are 25 percent less likely to develop breast cancer! Scientists from Israel found out in a study that emotional stability is protecting the body as well.
In contrast, emotional stresses, such as the death of a relative or a divorce, considerably weaken the body's defences and increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
According to "Science Daily", the researchers at Ben Gurion University in Tel Aviv asked 255 breast cancer patients and 367 healthy control persons about their attitude to life and drastic experiences that had made them particularly happy or depressed.
The result: a particularly painful experience increased the risk of developing breast cancer by as much as 60 percent.
Director of research Ronit Peled: "We can carefully say that experiencing more than one severe and/or mild to moderate life event is a risk factor for breast cancer among young women. On the other hand, a general feeling of happiness and optimism can play a protective role".
On the other hand, an optimistic mindset could have a protective effect, he said.
However, other cancer experts criticise the fact that the patients in the study were only interviewed after diagnosis. And in this situation, even positive people could feel depressed and anxious.