Endometriosis and Stress

Which Came First The Cancer or The Stress?

By: Belle Browne

It is very hard to say which happens first, the stress or the cancer. When we are stressed, the immune system is weakened. We are then more susceptible to picking up germs or bacteria and we get sicker much more easily because our defences are low . We cannot fight off these bad bugs or bacteria.

Stress causes or exacerbates the problem or weakens us in so many different ways. I believe, that if the immune system is worn down long enough it may be weakened and thus be unable to fend off the bad cells like cancer, or even a disease like endometriosis. Endometriosis is often described as a benign cancer as it acts like an autoimmune disease in a cancer-like manner.

This disease also happens to be exacerbated by stress,which can also cause the disease to flare up and worsen. As the endo sufferer gets more stressed the disease will simply get worse and worse. The pain can be absolutely paralyzing. This also wears down the soul and can contribute to picking up infections a whole lot easier.

Endometriosis sufferers have a higher incidence of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Endometriosis causes pain, pain causes increased stress and that can only weaken the immune system. This, in turn, leaves us more susceptible to infections and even other diseases.

Nearly all the endometriosis sufferers that I know, or whom I have interviewed, have other symptoms, syndromes, or other diseases. None of us seems to just have endometriosis. It seems as if all of us have damaged immune systems. I can only conclude that cancer has to be linked in some way, perhaps with someone in our families. Personally, my Grandma had breast and stomach cancer. My Grandpa had bowel cancer. My Dad has melanoma, IBS, and diverticulitis, My Mum almost certainly had endometriosis and her Mum and my Grandma had non- Hodgkin's lymphoma.

All these diseases above are related to endometriosis in some direct or indirect way. Diseases and other problems related to the bowel also go with endometriosis, so I have also included in this list Bowel Cancer and Diverticulitis. Both are not normally associated with endometriosis but, since it is in my family, I have included it in this list.

I myself, unfortunately, have a damaged immune system and I am allergic to a lot of anti biotics and antihistamines and I also have two auto immune diseases... endometriosis & endosalpingosis. I also have Irritable Bowel Syndrome ( IBS )- like my Dad.

Our immune systems are also being affected by environmental toxins. It is not easy to escape the toxins that are flowing into our environment. They are slowly poisoning us; in the food we eat or through the pesticides that are used on our food. They spew out of our cars into the air and so into our lungs. Dioxins, toxins and poisons are everywhere we look and breath. It is virtually impossible to escape them. Our world has turned into a dangerous place indeed.

I strongly believe that the more toxins, dioxins, and poisons there are, the greater will be the numbers of cancer and endometriosis sufferers. Our numbers will grow more and more, as time goes on. There are an estimated almost 90 million endometriosis sufferers now, worldwide . These estimates vary from 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 women have endometriosis. That makes endometriosis the most common disease on the face of the earth.

Are we all going to have get sick and suffer extreme pain before something is done? When will the pollution and toxins and dioxins be stopped from leaking into our waterways, into the sea and our food from the sea? When will they close Japan's toxic waste dumps.Dumps that are right beside children's preschools? It is truly frightening, what is in store for the future ,for our children and the generations after that.

Endo-resolved home