Comments on: Making Yourself Sick With Breast Cancer? Olivia Newton-John

By: Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:46:12 +0000

Thanks for taking the time to comment, Tom. A friend of mine has breast cancer, and I can’t believe for a second that she made herself sick!
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post..5 Ways to Make Work Better – Tips for Achieving Career Goals =-.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 22:35:46 +0000

No, you can’t give yourself cancer by having the wrong thoughts or the wrong attitude. Cancer is physical process, and whether it’s going to happen is ultimately determined by the physical and chemical laws of nature.

You also cannot cure yourself of cancer by these means.

By: Laurie PK

Laurie PK — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:11:42 +0000

Amanda – your comment reminds me of something I heard Oprah ask on her show yesterday: “What are you hungry FOR?” (It was a show about obese teenagers).

I love this question and plan to ask it whenever I want to tear into a bag of Cheez-Its or a carton of ice cream: what am I really needing? What do I really want?

About the causes of breast cancer — poor lifestyle habits definitely contribute to it, and so genetics. Like the info in the breast cancer and child abuse study says: everything is related to something else. That is, being physically abused as a child could lead to unhealthy adult behaviors (poor eating, smoking, addictions) — which could make you sick with breast or other cancers.

So many things start in childhood!

Thanks for being here, Amanda.

Laurie

By: amanda

amanda — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:45:02 +0000

i believe that poor eating has alot to do with cancer,and poor eating is a result of feeling negative towards oneself.

By: Laurie PK

Laurie PK — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:37:32 +0000

Childhood physical abuse is associated with elevated rates of cancer in adulthood, according to a new study by University of Toronto researchers.

The study, to be published July 15 in the journal Cancer, shows those individuals physically abused in childhood are more likely to develop cancer than those who have not been abused. Childhood physical abuse is associated with 49 per cent higher odds of cancer in adulthood, says Esme Fuller-Thomson of U of T’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Department of Family and Community Medicine.

“Few talk about childhood physical abuse and cancer in the same breath,” says Fuller-Thomson. “From a public health perspective, it’s extremely important that clinicians be aware of the full range of risk factors for cancer. This research provides important new knowledge about a potential childhood abuse-cancer relationship.”

The study’s findings showed the association between childhood abuse and cancer remained significant even after controlling for three major potentially confounding factors: childhood stressors, adult health behaviors (i.e. smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption) and adult socioeconomic status.

Co-author Sarah Brennenstuhl, a doctoral student at U of T, notes that various psychophysiological factors could help to explain the link between childhood physical abuse and cancer. “One important avenue for future research is to investigate dysfunctions in cortisol production – the hormone that prepares us for ‘fight or flight’ –as a possible mediator in the abuse-cancer relationship.”

Source: University of Toronto press release (June 25, 2009).