After my first cancer diagnosis, I was in remission through surgery, but it had not cured me. My childhood emotional trauma, the root cause of my disease, had not been addressed. Indeed the trauma of the diagnosis, the surgery, the chemo and adjusting to my new life with a neo bladder only compounded my issues. I just wanted to forget about what had happened and move on with life. But that meant being stuck in the old life. Looking back, it was inevitable that the disease would come back as the same old stresses were still present.
Thankfully, just before my second diagnosis, I worked with a psychologist to resolve PTSD from childhood trauma. I’d tried for many years to overcome this through psychotherapy, counselling and anti-anxiety drugs. They all provided temporary relief at best. The EMDR therapy I undertook with the psychologist started to shift the trauma. When diagnosed the second time, I was in a much better position to take control of my healing.
But what turned things around for me ultimately was undertaking The Journey with Brandon Bays. The Journey is a set of techniques that have freed thousands from lifelong emotional and physical blocks – from addiction, and depression, to chronic pain and disease. It may even be that this single action alone will overcome the disease. There are documented cases of spontaneous remission from undertaking The Journey. Or it may be, as in my case, part of a bundle of therapies, including conventional medicine, that leads to remission.
Introduction
In this article, I examine the link between emotional trauma and cancer, including its development, spread and remission. I look at the science and relate it to my own experience. Resolving emotional trauma is critical to strengthening the emotional axis of the healing triangle.
Can emotional stress cause cancer — the science
Studies have indicated a link between psychological factors and an increased risk of developing cancer.1 Links between psychological stress and cancer arise in several ways. For example, people under stress may develop risky behaviours that increase a person’s risk for cancer, such as smoking, overeating, or drinking alcohol. In my case, unresolved PTSD from childhood trauma leads to a lifetime of binge drinking and smoking, both factors that can cause bladder cancer. So it may be the risky behaviour that arises from the stress that causes cancer rather than the stress itself.
People with cancer may find the disease’s physical and emotional effects stressful. Those who manage their stress with risky behaviours and become more sedentary may have a poorer quality of life during cancer treatment. In contrast, patients who have strategies to deal with stress, including meditation, Qi Gong or exercise, have less depression, anxiety and symptoms related to cancer.
Interestingly, studies show that psychological stress can affect a tumour’s ability to grow and spread. Studies show that tumours grew and spread when mice were isolated from other mice. Studies found that stress hormones may promote angiogenesis and metastasis in mice.
In my case, a lifetime of unresolved emotional trauma not addressed by counselling or meditation contributed to my metastasis in October 2021. When I began to address my emotional trauma through The Journey, the metastasis was halted and began to reverse. It is as if the cancer is a wake-up call to address unresolved emotional trauma, some of which are generational.
But it is not just the development and spread of the disease from the stress that is a risk. Data suggests that cancer patients who develop a sense of helplessness are associated with higher death rates. People who feel helpless may give up or fail to adhere to therapy and engage in risky behaviours resulting in premature death.
When I received my first diagnosis in 2019, I fell into a black hole of despair that did not lead to a good outcome from either the surgery or chemotherapy that was to follow. I stuck with the same stressful work I’d previously engaged in during remission. Despite years of counselling and mediation, I had not addressed emotional trauma when diagnosed with metastatic cancer in 2021. My understanding was that it was the end of the line for me.
If I hadn’t had my psychologist, I would not have found the way ahead by strengthening my physical, emotional and mental bodies. My outcome would be different. Don’t let the medical profession convince you there is no hope for Stage IV cancer other than prolonging life.
How unresolved emotional trauma can cause cancer
Some studies go further than indicating that it is the risky behaviours from stress alone that causes cancer. Our thoughts and emotions dictate the quality of our health and can cause specific chronic diseases. The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, one of the most extensive investigations of childhood abuse and neglect and later-life lack of health and well-being, demonstrated this connection. Most treatments only involve the physical aspects of the body without looking into the emotional state that is often actually in charge.2
Dr Rkye Geerd Hamer found that unresolved emotional trauma causes cancer. He used his experience of losing his son and developing prostate cancer two years later. Dr Hamer studied patients who had developed cancer and then looked to see if they had any unresolved trauma in their lives. He discovered that all his patients with cancer had sustained emotional trauma within at least the last two years.
Research supports a connection between inflammation and cancer. Scientists are now learning that inflammation relates to psychological stress and cancer. Research shows that constant stress is a risk factor for cancer and its progression and that inflammation is to blame. According to Ankur Parikh at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, chronic stress creates a perfect storm where precancerous cells can grow and flourish.5
In addition, an article in the National Library of Medicine found that destructive coping styles are conducive to intensifying cancer trauma symptoms in adult patients. The researchers studied the relationship between coping style and intensity of trauma symptoms in adult cancer patients. Findings suggested that constructive coping style and low emotional reactivity may act as a specific protector against cancer trauma symptoms in adults.4
My own experience bears this out. During my first diagnosis, I did not have robust coping mechanisms. This led to the development of PTSD from the extended stay in the hospital and subsequent chemotherapy. In 2021 when facing a more serious prognosis, I developed comping mechanisms through mediation and releasing emotional trauma through the Journey. This resulted in milder symptoms and side effects associated with both the disease and the chemotherapy.
Post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer
A long history of unresolved complex PTSD from sexual abuse was the root cause of my cancer. Following my first cancer diagnosis, I suffered a second experience of PTSD that led to the reoccurrence two years later. One study shows that nearly one in four cancer patients experienced PTSD.5
Aspects of the cancer experience that can trigger PTSD include:
- The diagnosis
- Pain from cancer or other physical issues
- Tests and treatments
- Test results
- Extended hospital stays or treatments
- Cancer’s return or fear of its return
The study also found that people who have had PTSD or other mental health conditions before being diagnosed with cancer are more susceptible to PTSD associated with cancer.
I found the initial diagnosis traumatic, as were the complications from my surgery. I was in no fit state to undergo chemotherapy, which I struggled with. None of my medical team addressed my PTSD. Instead, labelled as mentally weak by my oncologist, I plunged into depression. I wanted to forget all about the experience in the two subsequent years. Unable to process what I experienced led inevitably to its spread two years later
Conclusion
The science shows that a lifetime of stress, PTSD and other forms of emotional stress has a direct relationship with developing cancer and its spread. Robust coping mechanisms for resolving emotional trauma can support remission and lessen treatment’s symptoms and side effects. My experience over the last three years is an example of all three states. If you do nothing else, resolve your emotional trauma when facing a cancer diagnosis by doing The Journey.
References
- Psychological Stress and Cancer; Available at URL: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/feelings/stress-fact-sheet#:~:text=depression%2C%20and%20anxiety.-,Can%20psychological%20stress%20cause%20cancer%3F,cancer%2C%20but%20others%20have%20not.
- How Unresolved Emotional Trauma Can Cause Cancer; Available from: https://www.nickersoninstitute.com/blog/psycho-oncology-how-unresolved-emotional-trauma-can-cause-cancer
- Emotional reactivity, coping style and cancer trauma symptoms; Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3953964/
- What is the relationship between stress and cancer? Available at URL: https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2019/07/what-is-the-relationship-between-stress-and-cancer
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Cancer; Available at URL: https://www.cancer.net/survivorship/life-after-cancer/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-and-cancer
