Although research studies have determined that this connection does not exist, I question this myself. We know that when we are stressed our immune system fails us. This is why so many people get colds and flu during the beginning of January, after having experienced the hectic holiday season with too many demands and not enough time (or money) to fulfill them.
We also know that, when our immune system goes on the blink, our body's ability to ward off cancer cell production is weakened. So, if A = B (stress = weakened immune system) and B = C (weakened immune system = greater likelihood of cancer), then does A = C (stress = cancer)? Sure did when I was in school.
The research studies that have been looking into this question have been conducted differently than I would have approached the subject. The scientists took 2 groups of women — one group that had already had breast cancer and another that had not. Next, they asked these women a series of questions related to crises or calamities in their pasts that had truly been life-altering.
For example: Did a parent die? Did you lose your job? Did you get a divorce? Did your house burn down? and so on. The researchers found that both groups of women had endured an equal number of major crises in the past — and from this they deduced that stress has no bearing on who gets cancer.
My approach would have been not to simply ask these women to enumerate their particular tragedies; my question would have been: How did you handle the crisis? How significant and distressing was this event for you? Maybe the divorce was her idea and she felt relieved and empowered afterward. Maybe she was glad when her mother died — who knows?
How these women coped with these distressing events, it seems to me, has a much deeper effect on their health than the mere fact that the crises happened. Some people internalize their stress, others externalize it, and still others don't let anything bother them.
So what do you think? Do you believe there's a link between developing breast cancer and having experienced major crises in your lives that might have weakened your immune systems?