There is considerable press given to the relationship between inflammation, trauma and cancer. This is a concern for trauma survivors who have topped the stress index due to litigation, job loss, relationship tension, drug use, traumatic injury and more. I find there is an almost fatalistic waiting for the blow to come because our stress points have been exceeded. It was with interest that I viewed multiple research articles that shows this link is not as solid statistically or from a science perspective as we were all lead to believe and that trauma only slightly increases cancer risk.
Cancer is actually a multifactorial disease and several areas have to go wrong before a malignancy occurs. People who are susceptible generally have a genetic mutation in the cellular ability to repair itself, or the off signal is defective and the cell grows consistently past its prime. Other areas of the DNA can still catch this by killing off the rogue section but in some people the gate keeper has ceased to work. Even then it takes multiple generations of mutated cells to form a cancer. The cancer cells examined under a high powered microscope look like they have exploded from the inside out. The tendency for mutations to grow out of control multiplies as we age simply because many of them are caused by things in our lifestyle or environment. I had heard erroneously that we all have cancer cells in our body and one day something just goes wrong. This always made me feel that there could be a betrayer with in me whom I could not know until I was already defeated.
The human body is actually much more ordered than this. Three types of genes are involved in cancers, oncogenes which are mutated proto-oncogenes (the signal to stop growing is broken) ,these cell promote cell division and and growth. Then there are tumor -suppressor genes which tell the cell when to stop dividing and finally there are the DNA repair genes which if they are defective let mutation continue unrepaired. So individuals can inherit variants that increase their susceptibility to some cancers but even then it is is not a death sentence.
It is said that at least 30% of cancers are provoked by our lifestyle and that a stable life where we exercise, eat right and avoid smoking and other pollutants can indeed reduce mutations and increase quality of life. Humor and affection also help as they do reduce the stress response and gently lead us away from the bad habits that cause mutations.
So live life to the fullest and be kind to be your personal best. Seven years after severe injuries and multiple stress factors my husband and I found our way back to blood pressure and heart rates that a teen would envy. Indeed some of the degeneration we were consistently assured would put us in wheelchairs has slowly submitted to the power of a life well lived. Before the trauma we never really knew our neighbors, we were too busy globe trotting to form relationships. I recently aarrived home to find homemade cookies in my mailbox, fresh orchids and basil plants left with love and all my school books carefully protected by the mail man until my return. I still never see a day without physical pain but I am glad to be alive. Life is not over it is just different. There is life after trauma!
Posts
