Saturday, November 9, 2019

Stress and Cancer - #gyncsm chat November 13, 2019



We know that stress can affect the body in many ways. We also know that there are many stress triggers a woman may experience when diagnosed as high-risk for or diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer, as well as during treatment and survorship.

This month the #gyncsm community will cover topics related to stress and cancer during our Wednesday, November 13th chat at 9pm ET (8pm CT, 6pm PT). Join us as we talk about stress and share ways to reduce stress during and after treatment. We will also touch on research on stress and its effect on cancer cells.

You may find information on pyschological stress on this NCI page.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/feelings/stress-fact-sheet

Guiding our discussion will be the following Topic (T#:) questions:
T1: What are some of the internal and external factors which can lead to stress/tension when dealing with a cancer-related diagnosis? How can stress differ at diagnosis, during treatment, and following initial treatment?

T2: What are some changes doctors and other healthcare providers could make to reduce stress along various points in the patient experience?

T3: What steps can patients take to reduce stress and to address the physical, mental and emotional responses to stress? What do you find to be helpful?

T4: Some studies show use of a stress-lowering heart drug (beta-blocker) by women w/ #ovariancancer is associated w/ a longer OS (overall survival).https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cncr.29392
(2015) Is this drug and/or other stress reduction protocols now included in treatment plans?

T5: What are some signs that stress is becoming "distress" and/or impactful enough on daily activities that additional help is needed? What is known about PTSD in patients?

T6: A recent study showed stress is associated w/ #ovariancancer risk
https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/79/19/5113.short What is the difference between associations, correlations and causes of cancer?

T7: Overall, what does research show about the relationship between the nervous system and the spread of cancer?


See you on Wednesday!

Dee and Christina
#gyncsm moderators

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