Anger is a bad emotion that, more often than not, has extremely detrimental repercussions on a person's overall health. It may not be the primary cause of cancer, but it can still act as a catalyst in cancer progression, especially in the early stages or when a patient is recovering. It's interesting how suppressed rage behaves differently than voiced fury. Research has demonstrated that repressed anger does much greater harm.
The connection between anger and cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, there are 48,000 new instances of melanoma diagnosed each year, and 8,000 of those cases result in death from the disease's metastatic spread. Repressing feelings, particularly anger, appears to be a significant element in chronic stress, which promotes the growth of cancer cells.
According to a Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester study, there was a 70% increase in cancer deaths for patients who scored above 75% on the concealing emotions scale. Another study for the California Breast Cancer Research Program showed that women who voiced their anger lived an additional 3.7 years (compared to those who did not—1.8 years) longer than those who did not.
Those with early-stage tumors were more likely to experience this discrepancy. In addition to the impact on the disease, persons with repressed anger also experience bronchial issues, elevated systolic blood pressure, and cortisol secretion.
However, Dr. Shweta Mutha, Radiation Oncologist, Ruby Hall Clinic denied any such connection. “It is a known and proven fact that anger and suppressed emotions can lead to stress or depression but not cancer. There is no proven data or cases that suggest anger and suppressed emotions cause cancer,” she said.
How is anger associated with terminal illnesses?
The body gets short spurts of energy when the stress hormone is released. However, the body might experience a variety of harmful side effects from having too much of this hormone. An excess of cortisol in the body can lower bone density, depress thyroid function, and result in an unbalanced blood sugar level. The immunological system of the body is also impacted by this hormone imbalance. According to research, persons who are chronically furious experience more frequent flare-ups of skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, and cold and flu infections.
Natural killer cells—vital immune system cells that fight and reject both tumors and virally contaminated cells may be released when a person can retain a positive attitude and control over brief outbursts of anger.
