Stress and Breast Cancer Metastasis- Study Confirms Link

The few years leading up to my being diagnosed with breast cancer stressed me to breaking. I really handled the stress well, but I suspected that my body suffered the consequences when I found a tumor in my breast in 2003. Now a recent study out of Ohio State University links stress and breast cancer metastasis. It confirms my suspicion that my immune system had been adversely impacted by all the stress and may have been linked to the development of stage 3 breast cancer.  The ATF3 gene is already known to be expressed under stressful circumstances. This recent study shows that this gene may do more than just link stress and breast cancer; it may cause it to spread. Simply stated, this gene has the function of causing cells damaged by lack of oxygen during stressful times to die. Cancer cells somehow promote expression of the gene in immune cells at the tumor site affecting their function. This allows cancer cells to escape from the immune cells and travel to other parts of the body. Imagine a SCI-FI movie where the enemy turns the good guys against each other and while they are occupied invades the world. This is scary stuff! For those of us that battle breast cancer it is exciting and terrifying news. The exciting part can be summed up in the words of Tsonwin Hai the senior author of the study; “We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.” Now we know the enemy. The terrifying part is that it is within us and has a vital role in our cell functions. The very cells comm...
Source: Life with Breast Cancer - Category: Cancer Authors: Tags: Breast Cancer metastasis stress Source Type: blogs