I see that many people agree that stress can be dangerous for us. Pinball’s recount shows that even with the best will, sometimes circumstances make it almost impossible to remain calm. Lately my daughter has given me real reasons to worry, so relaxation techniques, like exercise, only work to a point. My other source of stress is of course the worry about the relapse, which is always somewhere in the back of my mind. The stress about relapse might make it more probable to relapse sooner!
At this point I think I will talk with my doctor about tranquillizers. They might be slightly toxic, but if they reduce the risk of relapsing soon and give me serenity at the same time, I think I will gobble them! With moderation, of course.
Forums
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Annamaria - Name: Annamaria
- Who do you know with myeloma?: I am a patient
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2012
- Age at diagnosis: 58
Re: Stress and relapse
I really believe that mine was triggered by stress. See also this article:
Weinhold, "Cancer: Stress Link Redefined," Environ Health Perspect. Feb 2008; 116(2): A68.
It's only an in vitro study but is suggestive.
Weinhold, "Cancer: Stress Link Redefined," Environ Health Perspect. Feb 2008; 116(2): A68.
It's only an in vitro study but is suggestive.
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Paul Walrus - Name: Paul
- Who do you know with myeloma?: me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 58
Re: Stress and relapse
This is fascinating and one of the reasons I truly appreciate The Beacon so much. Excellent information and great discussion.
pinball: I am so sorry for the incredible amount of stress you are going through. Do you practice any other type of relaxation techniques? Daily inspirational readings? Exercise helps a great deal but I often find that my body hurts so much I am not able to participate in exercise to the degree that it can be stress reducing. Reading inspirational material and meditation helps a great deal. It is hard to clear the mind, but if you can make 5-10 minutes a day for that, it helps tremendously.
I have no doubt that the intense stress of caring for a parent with dementia, owning and operating a failing business, dealing with children with special needs, working very long hours and weekends and facing financial ruin has had a negative effect on my health. I'm grateful I have had a few months to rest and restore as needed since we closed our business.
I'm very interested to hear the outcome of that study. I looked at it, but I do not see when they think they will post the results. Does anyone know?
pinball: I am so sorry for the incredible amount of stress you are going through. Do you practice any other type of relaxation techniques? Daily inspirational readings? Exercise helps a great deal but I often find that my body hurts so much I am not able to participate in exercise to the degree that it can be stress reducing. Reading inspirational material and meditation helps a great deal. It is hard to clear the mind, but if you can make 5-10 minutes a day for that, it helps tremendously.
I have no doubt that the intense stress of caring for a parent with dementia, owning and operating a failing business, dealing with children with special needs, working very long hours and weekends and facing financial ruin has had a negative effect on my health. I'm grateful I have had a few months to rest and restore as needed since we closed our business.
I'm very interested to hear the outcome of that study. I looked at it, but I do not see when they think they will post the results. Does anyone know?
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: Stress and relapse
The article that Paul Walrus pointed out is an overview of another study,
EV Yang et al, "VEGF is differentially regulated in multiple myeloma-derived cell lines by norepinephrine," Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, Volume 22, Issue 3, March 2008, Pages 318–323 (full text at PMC)
Abstract:
Evidence from human and animal studies support the hypothesis that psychological stress can be a co-factor for the initiation and progression of cancer. Recent work from our laboratory and others have shown that the catecholamine hormone, norepinephrine (NE), may influence tumor progression of some solid epithelial tumors including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and ovarian cancer by modulating the expression of proangiogenic and pro-metastatic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
In this study, we determined whether NE can likewise modulate the expression of VEGF in a lymphoid tumor, multiple myeloma (multiple myeloma), a cancer of plasma cells.
Three MM-derived cell lines, NCI-H929, MM-M1, and FLAM-76, were studied. The presence of β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors (ARs) was assessed using Western blotting. Cells were treated with 0, 1, and 10 μM NE for 1, 3, 6, and 24 h and the levels of VEGF in culture supernatants were measured by ELISA.
Immunoblots of cell lysates revealed the presence of β1- and β2-ARs in all three MM-derived cell lines. However, these MM-derived cell lines exhibited varying degrees of NE-dependent regulation of VEGF expression with FLAM-76 (the only IL-6-dependent cell line among the three) exhibiting the most significant stimulation, followed by MM-M1 cells and then NCI-H929.
The data suggest that the ability of NE to regulate the expression of VEGF is not limited to solid epithelial tumors and suggests a possible regulatory role of catecholamine stress hormones in multiple myeloma progression.
EV Yang et al, "VEGF is differentially regulated in multiple myeloma-derived cell lines by norepinephrine," Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, Volume 22, Issue 3, March 2008, Pages 318–323 (full text at PMC)
Abstract:
Evidence from human and animal studies support the hypothesis that psychological stress can be a co-factor for the initiation and progression of cancer. Recent work from our laboratory and others have shown that the catecholamine hormone, norepinephrine (NE), may influence tumor progression of some solid epithelial tumors including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and ovarian cancer by modulating the expression of proangiogenic and pro-metastatic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
In this study, we determined whether NE can likewise modulate the expression of VEGF in a lymphoid tumor, multiple myeloma (multiple myeloma), a cancer of plasma cells.
Three MM-derived cell lines, NCI-H929, MM-M1, and FLAM-76, were studied. The presence of β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors (ARs) was assessed using Western blotting. Cells were treated with 0, 1, and 10 μM NE for 1, 3, 6, and 24 h and the levels of VEGF in culture supernatants were measured by ELISA.
Immunoblots of cell lysates revealed the presence of β1- and β2-ARs in all three MM-derived cell lines. However, these MM-derived cell lines exhibited varying degrees of NE-dependent regulation of VEGF expression with FLAM-76 (the only IL-6-dependent cell line among the three) exhibiting the most significant stimulation, followed by MM-M1 cells and then NCI-H929.
The data suggest that the ability of NE to regulate the expression of VEGF is not limited to solid epithelial tumors and suggests a possible regulatory role of catecholamine stress hormones in multiple myeloma progression.
Re: Stress and relapse
Some of you might find this interesting to listen to, especially if you are younger. I caught in on public radio a couple of days ago....and this thread on stress reminded me to post it:
https://www.cpr.org/news/story/rushing-waters-help-young-cancer-patients-adapt-challenges
This played right after the above segment (no audio on this one):
http://www.cpr.org/news/story/martial-arts-expert-finds-metaphors-life-and-workplace
https://www.cpr.org/news/story/rushing-waters-help-young-cancer-patients-adapt-challenges
This played right after the above segment (no audio on this one):
http://www.cpr.org/news/story/martial-arts-expert-finds-metaphors-life-and-workplace
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
15 posts
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