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An 18-year study of 6500 Danish women found that the more stress a woman suffered, the less her risk of breast cancer appeared to be. We tend to think that stress is always bad for us but that's not necessarily the case. Stress is a natural survival instinct. Even so, it has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in woman who've experienced difficult life events like the loss of a spouse. But bereavement is not the same as the stress of daily living, particularly when you feel put upon at work or home, and don't have much choice about how you deal with these demands. An 18-year study of 6500 Danish women looking at heart disease but monitoring their health in detail, asked them about the intensity and frequency of stress in their lives. Surprising the researchers, the findings showed that compared to women reporting no stress, those at the high end of the scale actually had significantly lower chances of developing breast cancer. It wasn't a well-designed study so the effect may not be real but if it is, it may be through a dampening effect on female hormones. It's an unpleasant way to prevent breast cancer and if the price paid is more heart disease then it may not be worth it.
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