Phone counseling improves quality of life, immune systems of cervical cancer...(ephone-counseling sessions helping parti...),Health

Previous studies have shown that chronic stress can hamper the immune systems ability to destroy tumor cells, Nelson said.

Our counseling program is showing that stress reduction can positively influence cancer survivorship psychologically, socially and, potentially, medically.

There is a great deal of public interest in the mind-body connection, and this study moves the field a step closer to identifying how psychosocial and complementary interventions might improve health outcomes.

Nelson and Wenzel both stress that although their data identifies changes in health that should put the immune system in a better position to fight cancer, demonstration of any improvement in survival will require much larger studies with much longer follow-up. The researchers have received a $3.1 million National Institutes of Health grant to study this in a larger population throughout Southern California.

The study appears in the April edition of Clinical Cancer Research. Wenzel is a researcher with the Center for Health Policy Research at UCI. Nelson is a physician/scientist with its Center for Immunology. Both are members of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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