Can FEAR of Breast Cancer CAUSE Cancer?

Breast cancer is the most feared cancer among women. This fear becomes so pervasive that it manifests itself in time. As one of my patients once remarked, “It is not if I will get breast cancer, but when I will get breast cancer.”

Sometimes women are so overwhelmed with anxiety and fear that they avoid any form of screening – even non-invasive breast thermography. Fear is cited as the major reason why many women avoid doing their breast self examination, as they are afraid of finding something. 

Like all negative emotions, fear can be destructive to one’s health. Fear and anxiety lead to a rise in cortisol levels, a hormone released by the adrenals that affects hormonal balance. Cortisol will increase blood sugar levels, increase the level of inflammation in the body and suppress the immune system.  Therefore, the emotion of fear will have an effect on your physical body by changing your body’s biochemistry. Living in fear and putting your body under chronic stress will eventually degrade the function of your immune system and allow disease to set in.

Fear of breast cancer will disempower and paralyze you into non-action. To overcome this fear you need to empower yourself with knowledge, information and a plan of action for breast cancer prevention. Breast cancer can and will become a preventable disease. By identifying your risks, and creating a plan for lowering your risk factors, you will diminish the grip that fear has on you. Preventive action will empower you and the energy consumed by fear will be transformed to create positive changes in your life leading to better health. 

How do you identify your risk factors and create a plan of action to reduce them? 

Years ago I published an article in several health magazines called Ten Ways to Help Prevent Breast Cancer, please read it and see what resonates with you. Create a plan of action or discuss it with a health practitioner who specializes in women’s health and disease prevention.  Become pro-active with your health, check your hormone levels, improve your diet, become more physically active, practice breast self examination, use breast thermography to assess your risk, and finally take control of your emotional health. Fear is an irrational emotion; your actions will create positive emotions and will liberate you from the negativity of fear.