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A new study has come up with a new ray of hope for those who suffer from breast cancer. According to the study, people who suffer from this medical condition can experience relief from depression and inflammation if they undergo psychological intervention.
The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre, was conducted on people suffering from stage II or III breast cancer.
Patients, who had a chance to undergo psychological therapy, were less stressed and they had a better potential for coping up depression in a better way. There was remarkable improvement in the inflammation also.
"Previously, we knew that inflammation was associated with depression-like symptoms among cancer patients, and that both are problematic, but we did not know whether treating depression would affect inflammation," says co-author Barbara L. Andersen, professor of psychology.
Inflammation can boost the risk of cancer whereas people who suffer from depression as well as inflammation are at a higher risk of death due to cancer.
Patients in the control group received only health and psychological assessments of their condition over the 12-month study period and showed no improvement in depression or inflammation indicators.
"This study shows that by helping breast cancer patients with depression, they will also experience less inflammation," says study leader William E. Carson.
The findings were published online in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
