Increased inflammation and diminished immune function can both drive cancer growth and progression. Loneliness, sadness, depression have all been linked with these cancer-promoting physiologic conditions. It is certainly not a far stretch to believe that this research (http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-loneliness-chronic-stress-taxes-immune.html) correlates with the hypothesis that living in a social environment, surrounded by close friends and loved ones, improves numerous health outcomes and lowers the risk of almost every major chronic disease (ie. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.)
You don’t always need to surround yourself with others to feel less lonely. As a big proponent of meditation, I was excited to read about a study that shows that by practicing meditation for only 8-weeks you can significantly reduce feelings of loneliness.
Read more about how inflammation fuels the development and growth of cancer on our blog, here.
Read more about the association between stress and cancer growth on our blog, here.
Learn more about what you can do to reduce your risk of cancer development, growth and progression on our blog, here.