Can Being Happier Help Your Fight Against Breast Cancer?

A cancer diagnosis is not something that you can usually put a positive spin on, and if you or a loved one has been given such terrible news is perfectly understandable to be feeling at an all-time low. However, the fight against breast cancer is not only a physical one; it's also an emotional one. Being happier can help your body fight cancer more effectively and suffer less from the expected side-effects of most cancer treatments.

Happy Means a Better Immune System

Have you ever noticed how happy people seem to fall sick less than those who always seem dark and depressed? The chemicals our body produces when we're stressed out or depressed have a negative effect on our immune systems, which in the case of cancer patients under treatment is compounded by the fact that neither radio nor chemotherapy are kind to the body natural defences. Avoiding stress and depression as much as possible can help your body fight cancer more effectively and reduce the chances of a secondary infection causing even more damage.

Feeling Better and Stronger

Many people who have beaten cancer point to being always optimistic as one of the things that kept them fighting until they were given the all-clear and it's not surprising. When you are happy you have more energy and feel better, and can take better decisions about your own health. Your body is also stronger and has better chances of beating the sickness along with traditional treatment, and it's somehow easier to overlook the side effects if you generally feel happier and know that you'll beat breast cancer. Keeping your spirits high is key to helping your body be in top shape when you are fighting cancer. And if you need to take difficult decisions such a surgery it can also help you adapt better to any changes on your body consequence of treatment.

Psychosomatic Side Effects

It's not only that being happy helps your body fight cancer more effectively: Being depressed can harm your chances as your body will reflect your mood in a myriad of small, but annoying, side effects. For example, you may discover that stress gives you a headache, which prevents you from sleeping properly. If you don't sleep well, you are depriving your body from the time it needs to recover and do all sorts of maintenance tasks, lowering your general health and making it even more difficult to deal with your medication and the physical symptoms of cancer. And this just makes sleeping even more difficult. Staying optimistic and keeping in mind that cancer can be beaten is vital to avoid this.