The Status of Psychosocial Factors in Cancer Prevention and Control

Psychosocial factor have the close relation of the tumor, positive psychology, social support, mental intervention which make a better effect than medicine in cancer treatment and prevention.

                                                                    -Fuda Cancer Hospital

Since 21th century,tumor known as the No.1 killer to harm human health which is no longer a incurable disease. Plan seed therapy, chemo, radio, biological immunotherapy, molecular targeting treatment,traditional Chinese medical treatment  such a comprehensive treatment, which not only can make the cancer patients of rehabilitation at early stage,but also can reduce the pain, remit symptom, prolong survival time and improve the high quality of life for middle-advanced cancer patients. With the medical mode develop in biology -psychology-social medicine,the status of psychosocial fators in cancer treatments have been concerned by more and more people, so we do a preliminary study.

1.The development between psychosocial factors and tumors.

1.1 Negative emotion become the worst reason to create tumors

Thought there are many complicated reasons caused tumors, but psychosocial factors are also the main reasons to create tumors, such as Natural disaster, Traffic accident ,War, Unrest, Bankrupt, Lose job, Brokenhearted, Divorced, Loss of spouse, all of them may become the factors to give rise to psychological stress, anger, fear,sorrow,loneliness, hopelessness and etc bad emotion.Such strong psychological reaction and long-time negative emotion will stimulate the cancer gene and become the forceful reasons to create tumors. 

1.2 Psychological factors suppress immune function to induce tumor.

Whatever physical, chemical, biological reasons or spiritual,nervous,endocrine,genetic reasons, all of them can 

make normal cells gene mutations, which are formed cancer gene of cancerous cells, when this kind of cancer cells unlimited growth, they will rise tumor lesions. Normally, human immune function can recognize ,suppress and kill cancer cells in time, carcinogenic factor will induce cell canceration, but won’t create a tumor, only when the carcinogenic factors and damage of immune function happen in the same time,then the tumors developed. Intense psychological stress for anger, sadness, fear, loneliness, despair and other negative emotions, and introverted,not very talkative, negative emotions can not be outlet,will cause central nervous system function disorder and adrenal cortical hormone releasing factor secretion, accelerate the secretion of adrenocortical drunk increases,thus inhibiting the activity of T lymphocytes, natural killer cells, lead to the body's cellular immune function lower, and make cancer cells avoid the immunity attach to be alive, and have space and chance to grow unlimited to be tumor.

2. Psychological factors and tumor treatments return

2.1 Tumor diagnosis before-after mentality

Because the less hope for survival, everyone have a resistance and fear psychology of cancer.For early stage cancer patients who have not yet been diagnosed often use the rationalization mentality to remove the cancer.For example, Lung cancer patients regard the cough as “catching a cold”to comfort themselves, or doubt the doctors diagnose wrong, go to many of kind of hospitals to do the repeatedly examination to satisfy talking chance.Once the cancer confirmed, they will be caught in the extremely fear,    sorrow,desperation,and etc negative emotion, the worst will be emotional shock. This strong psychological stress may decrease the immune function and sharply worsen the tumor. 

2.2  Psychological adaptability influence the recurrence of tumor 

After making a definite diagnose and get the effective surgery or chemo, radio, but the external reason to cause cancer may be not removed, and cancer patients have no such ability to change the external reason,and lack of psychological adaptability at the same time, that will make patients are caught in scare,sorrow, despair,depression negative emotion and can not get rid of cancer scene so as to cause the cancer reappear and metastasize easily. On the contrary, optimistic, open, happy and peaceful emotion will make patients’ inside environment reach steadily to develop immune potential, so that it not only prevent the occurrence of tumors but also can make existing tumors to limit growth, eventually, the survival cancer will be killed by self-immune function. The positive influence from psychological factors can not reply by other medical therapies.   

3.Psychological behavior intervention from cancer rehabilitation.

3.1 Psychological counseling

The mentality shock from cancer, after patients suffer the process of  pain , deny, double, hate,abandon,black mood,they face the reality. At this moment, the doctor should guide the patients to know the cancer properly and introduce the modern medical therapies’ new development, tell the patients the time of treatments, possible side effect and right solution of treatments to cancel their fear and depression,and also help the patients keep peaceful in mind ,encourage them to face the true and built the confidence to fight cancer. Thus, patients can be positive and active to accept the treatments as well as stimulate the patients'potential immune prevention ability to resist cancer,so it become the key point to recover from cancer.

3.2 Behavior modification

Different patients have their different diet, the unhealthy diets such as smoking,bad drinking, junk food, stay up late, bad eating habit, which all relate with the occurrence, development,treatment, recurrence and metastases of cancer, the doctors should guide the patients modified their habit, for example, help to quit smoking step by step, avoid alcohol, learn to customize diet, make diet and illness records, encourage the communication with others encourage each other, and induced its appropriate to take a walk, qigong, yoga cafe, tai chi sports, etc.To help patients do life orderly, diet is adjustable, psychosomatic relaxation, optimism, to enhance the psychological ability to adapt.

3.3 Family love

after surgery ,chemo or radiation therapy, the patients need a long-term comprehensive treatments, and one of the most critical diet, attitude adjustment, drug therapy, rehabilitation exercise needs to be implemented in the family. Therefore, Care of relatives, the warmth of family, can not only maintain corning patients' psychological,and makes a comprehensive treatment measures into effect. Family members to meet the reasonable requirements, to assist the implementation of the treatment plan and at the same time, should also pay attention to help them build up confidence, rebuild psychological social adaptation ability, don’t give up anytime. 

3.4 Social support 

Cancer patients are the members of the society, not only need family care, more understanding and social support, which also need an extension of the family care, care unit of leadership, colleagues and relatives visiting, can buffer in patients with mood disorders, enhance the courage to overcome the tumor. Many countries have a cancer nursing homes, rehabilitation school, anticancer club provides patients a comfortable, quiet and psychosomatic rehabilitation of environment. Positive social support can offset the adverse psychological social factors of stress caused by negative emotions, peaceful state of mind, qi reconcile, viscera function coordination, the body's internal environment stable, make drugs to achieve the best curative effect. In a word, psychological social factors is an important link for cancer patients in the prevention and treatment , the positive psychological social factors make drug effect work well, how to transfer the positive psychological social factors achieve control cancer, the purpose of protecting people's health remain to be the efforts of the whole society.