Traumatic Stress and cancer with in the first few years

[Ianvs]

Hi fellow cancer buddies I am trying to get a better sense of the links between highly Traumatic Events in our lives and the development of cancer . I was a firestorm fighter ( CFA Volunteer ) inside the black saturday firestorm that raced up the mountain and wiped out kinglake west and the other towns on mount disappointment . I didn't get any physical damage even though it got to 200 C where we where as the plastic melted on the fire truck I was crewing . I did however get and am still suffering from PTSD and then 12 months after the fires I was diagnosed with Colon cancer . The first thing the nurse asked me when I sat down for the first of many chemo cocktails was , did you have anything unusual happen in the last year ? Well it was like this . I told her of the fires and the after events and she was not surprised . Do any of you also have highly Traumatic Events with in a few years of your cancers being detected ? I understand that there maybe many ways that cancer is caused , I would like to hear from others who have had intense emotional shock before the shock of cancer .

[wombat4]

Hi Ianvs, Interesting you should bring that up. My wife was dx with colon cancer in 09. I have read it may take a long time to develop from the polyps. A few years prior to the dx, because of an incident that happened in the course of her work, she had to go through a very stressful medical legal enquiry, and I have never seen her so uptight and stressed. It is also well documented that stress may be a trigger for cancer. She was cleared of the work issue, but it took a huge emotional toll on her. She has no family history of colon cancer. But a few years later came the dx and it was very advanced stage4 with liver mets. The work related stress, may or may not have anything to do with the cancer, but it sure wouldnt have helped her well- being But,on saying that many people go under a lot of emotional stress in their lives and not all end up with cancer. take care, Wombat4

[purpleangels]

Hi there! I too have wondered this....... My husband and I had two quite malicious acts of vandalism carried out on our new house while we slept- scared the bejesus out of us..... We took it in turns to sleep, left every light in the house on, were constantly on alert for a year afterward. Cops never caught who did it.....but three years later, my husband was diagnosed with epithelioid haemangioendothelioma....... The surgeons told us it was just bad luck that he got it, but I wonder......... Good luck to you!! PA

[SILLY]

I believe that stress could perhaps be like the final straw . I think there would be at least a few more factors to allow cancer to get to a point that it's detectable . I think many have the cancer there in their bodies but the immune system keeps it from taking over .Then sometimes the immune system can no longer win .

[Ron50]

Hi Ian. I agree with silly. I don't think stress helps but I think that there needs to be a deeper cause. I recently read that the training for Vic firefighters over many years has included the use of some very dubious substances some carcenogenic. I have been thru a lot of stress over a long period . A marriage failed and with it went my two small children, ten years later I was dxed with colon ca. When I look further back tho I believe my ca stemmed from childhood medical treatment. At a young age I was dxed with suspected bronchiectisis a progressive deteriorating lung condition. I did not have it,the bubbling in my chest was a hiatus hernia ,finally dxed at age 26. I went thru the treat ment tho for the suspected disease. For nearly ten years off and on I took two drops of creosote in a glass of milk evry night. They now say that creosote is a major carcinegen,how many cells did it corrupt in my growing years. Hope you are going well with the colon ca my dx was dukes c into six nodes ,I am oficcially cured of that tumour I just have to watch carefully for new ones,good luck,Ron.

[SILLY]

That is unlucky to be misdiagnosed and therefore treated and with a carcinogen as a child,Ron.Children's bodies are probably more susceptible to damage . No wonder you think this was a major factor in the development of your cancer . As to the comment that many people have major stress in their lives and never get cancer ,there are a host of other medical conditions which can be triggered by stress. Also some manage to combat stress in healthy ways such as diet,exercise ,meditation and hobbies . The human body is so complex and our bodies are all as individual as experiences . We will probably never know for sure why we got cancer .

[sarah]

Hi lnvs, hi all, this has been an area of special attention for me. I have wondered continually about the connection, and have viewed many a paper and article to support this connection. The connection goes something like this: Trauma=disruption/interference to nervous system=breakdown/exhaustion of immune system. Cancer begins as a virus, something that lives as a potential for all people. It is the immune system's ability to fight the virus that is key to "getting" cancer. If the immune system is in some way challenged in cannot do this. But, there are other things that can compromise the immune system too, such as digested toxins - ie poisons (food), electrical charges (wi fi and the like), microwaves... etc, etc. These all, in someway, provide the same results to the nervous system as a traumatic experience - essentially they are all traumas, all disturbing the nervous system, and thus immunity. Please keep in mind that this is a simple explanation of something more complex.