Cancer is a physical disease. But it has striking affects on mental, emotional and spiritual wellness too. Worried
Sick: The Emotional Impact of Cancer is a report done by Macmillan Cancer Support that illustrates the devastating
emotional impact cancer can have for the patient and family living with cancer, and the lack of support services
available to address these needs. Depression, anxiety, and isolation are common feelings. The entire experience of
cancer can place a serious strain on the best of relationships. It can end less durable relationships. Divorce and
separation can be an outcome of the stress of living with a life-threatening illness. Cancer patients report feeling
alone and abandoned with no one they can really talk even when they do not live alone.Personally, I know of a woman who was struggling through the grueling ordeal of chemotherapy. She had suffered all the physical side-effects of chemotherapy, such as hair loss, weight loss, weakness -- drained of any healthly glow. She was not in a good marriage to begin with, but at her most vulnerable and weakest moment, her husband actually turned to her and said, "Why don't you just hurry up and die." Up until that moment, she was not sure she was going to survive cancer. In that moment, she became determined not only to survive cancer, but her husband. Today, years later, she is a breast cancer survivor. True story.
For a surprising majority of cancer patients, the negative emotional impact of cancer far outweighs the physical reality of having cancer. The complete report -- Worried Sick: The Emotional Impact of Cancer -- is available as a PDF document.
1. Social Support Can Strengthen Tumor Immune Activity
Researchers at the University of Iowa City found a link between psychosocial factors and immune function in cells isolated from human tumors. They noted that ovarian cancer patients with greater social support have stronger natural killer (NK) cell activity in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) cells, as well as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
To examine the effects of stress on tumor environment, they compared NK cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) in peripheral blood, tumor infitrating lymphocyte (TIL) cells, and ascites in ovarian cancer patients. Peripheral blood was taken before surgery, while TIL and ascites were collected during surgery. In the peripheral blood, the researchers found the NKCC was lower in the cancer patients than in women with benign masses. The ovarian cancer patients had lower NKCC activity in TIL, compared to PBMC (which are critical components of the defense mechanism against infection), and ascites.
After adjustment for cancer stage, stronger social support was related to higher NKCC in TIL and PBMC, while higher distress was tied to lower NKCC in TIL. Psychosocial factors were most strongely tied to NKCC in TIL, and suggests that psychosocial factors may contribute to the robustness of the immune system in tumor environment.
Social support may play a protective role and may be an independent marker of health-related quality of life among cancer patients. Behavioral factors may contribute to disease outcomes.
Dr. Susan K. Lutgendorf, one of the lead authors of the study, said that they will continue to follow patients in the current study to identify relationships among psychosocial factors, immune factors and clinical outcomes.
J Clin Oncol 2005;23:7105-7113
Posted at 3:46PM on Apr 6th 2006 by Gregory D. Pawelski