Stress And Cancer

The influence of psychological factors on the development and progression of cancer has been a longstanding hypothesis since ancient times. In the last 30 years, epidemiological and clinical studies have provided strong evidence for links between chronic stress, depression, social isolation and cancer progression. Stress is defined as a complex, biological and psychological process including factors that are involved in initiation of a biological pathway in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Stress can be acute, or short-term, often caused by overarousal in heartbeat or blood pressure, or episodic anxiety and depression. Once acute stress becomes a common state, you are said to be under chronic stress conditions. Under chronic, or