Stress And Cancer A Dangerous Connection

Stress and cancer combined can be a lethal combination likened to pouring gas on a fire.

It is a known fact: Stress, especially the chronic kind, is damaging to our health. But just how bad is it? In a new video, Dr. Thomas Lodi talks about the link between stress and cancer. According to Dr. Lodi, a renowned integrative oncologist, stress is “gasoline on a fire.” A person who leads a constantly stressful life who does not make a conscious effort to exercise regularly and monitor their diet is fuelling cancer cells to thrive in the body.

“When a person is stressed, the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system are changed,” he explained. “Blood is shunted away from the organs that are doing the metabolic work. This affects healing and normal functioning. Stress stimulates the production of cortisol and adrenaline. Both increase the blood pressure and increase the glucose released by the liver. When the glucose goes up, your pancreas responds by producing more insulin. The insulin’s job is to get it out of your blood and into your cells. Cancer cells have all these extra insulin receptors. Every time you’re stressed, you produce glucose, and feed the cancer.”

Dr. Lodi notes that stress is just one of multiple factors that can indirectly cause cancer. Stress is something that people can manage and prevent from further damaging the body.

Holistic healing: Mind and Body

Dr. Lodi reminds patients and fellow doctors: The mind and body are one. Empowering the mind is a crucial step to truly transforming the body.

Taking this into consideration, Dr. Lodi and his team at Akesis Life, a Thailand-based integrative oncology center have created a program that incorporates mindfulness exercises to help patients focus and find inner peace.

“Suppose we change the diet and successfully help them eliminate the cancer that’s detectable, but we don’t change what’s in the mind, they will recreate the lifestyle that will lead back to cancer,” he said.

Dr. Lodi, who has also practiced as a clinical psychologist, further notes that the key is to “turn off the mind.” He added, “What psychology tells us is that 70% of the average person’s thoughts are negative.”

Stress and Cancer is a big reason why we treat the mind as well as the body

In psychology, ‘negativity dominance’ is a term that refers to the phenomenon in which up to 70% of people’s thoughts are actually negative. It implies that there is a disconnect between people’s positive response to questions and their feelings deep down in the subconscious. In reality, people are actually more “self-critical, pessimistic and fearful” than they let out consciously.

Because it does not feel good to have negative thoughts, people have developed the habit of countering thoughts with positive ones. And while this is a good habit, in the long run, it may also be counterproductive.

These negative thoughts are not randomly generated—they come from deep-seated desires, values, and goals. To truly address these negative thoughts, the long-term solution is not to bury them with positive ones. Instead try to understand the motivation behind these desires, values, and goals.

As part of the comprehensive cancer care program he pioneered, Dr. Lodi includes different stress reduction and psycho-spiritual strengthening healing modalities like yoga and Tai chi.

Tai chi comes from ancient Chinese tradition and is practiced today as a “graceful form of exercise.” It involves slow and focused movements, accompanied by deep breathing. When learned correctly and done regularly, it can help decrease stress, anxiety, and depression and improve mood, among other health benefits.

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old “mind and body practice” rooted in in Indian philosophy. The physical benefits including improved flexibility and quality of sleep. Studies have shown that it can also help reduce stress by lowering levels of cortisol and improving the overall quality of life. It can also be used as an adjunct therapy for certain conditions.

“Stress may be inevitable, but it is not beyond our control. There are definitely ways to prevent it from escalating to something worse,” Dr. Lodi concluded. “By helping our patients understand how their mind and body work, we empower them with knowledge and the will to reclaim their right to health.”

To learn more about the Akesis Life cancer care program view our website or contact us today.

The post Stress And Cancer A Dangerous Connection appeared first on Akesis Life - Integrative Oncology.