Let us boost the immune system - step 1 stress

The first step in my new mission that aims at ensuring that Mr H does not come visiting again is to take all steps possible to boost Ranjan's immune system.Let us first acknowledge with respect that our body is nothing short of miraculous and that our immune system is an amazing internal healing system that was designed to keep us healthy and strong from a physical, mental and spiritual perspective. As I wrote in an earlier post the most probable cause for Ranjan's lymphoma has been negative stress, also known as chronic stress. This is not the healthy stress that keeps us on our toes and gets our adrenaline pumping for the right reasons and is often more like a situation reaction process and thus short lived. The stress that leads to severe illness is the one that puts us in a fight for flight mode over an extended period of time. It is one which often affects our deepest emotions and tends to negative thoughts that become the main cause of physiological stress at the cellular level and lead to our immune system weakening and eventually breaking down. Thus one has to deal with these problems at a deep level and often one cannot do it alone. Actually it is our belief that we are able to address such issues by ourselves which leads to breakdowns. I must admit that this is Ranjan's case. For far too long he tried to deal with deep emotional issues on his own and we are witness to the consequences. We are blessed to have come out of the initial problem but if we do not address the root cause, we will land ourselves in trouble sooner than we realise.

It is proven fact that stress affects the immune system. When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is why we are more susceptible to infections.The stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system (e.g. lowers the number of lymphocytes). When the stress is chronic as is the case with Ranjan then the consequences can be terrible.

A scholarly article entitled Stress, depression, the immune system, and cancer studies this in depth: Here, we overview the evidence that various cellular and molecular immunological factors are compromised in chronic stress and depression and discuss the clinical implications of these factors in the initiation and progression of cancer. It goes to say that Cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases with multiple causes, and immunological involvement varies across different cancers. Cancers induced by chemical carcinogens might be less affected by psychological, behavioural, and immunological factors than are those associated with a DNA tumour virus, retrovirus insertion near a cellular oncogene, or other viruses such as Epstein Barr virus, which is immunogenic. Suppression of cellular immunity is associated with a higher incidence of some types of tumours, particularly Epstein Barr virus-associated lympho- proliferative diseases in organ-transplanted patients, and Kaposi's sarcoma and Epstein Barr virus-associated B-cell lymphoma. 

So here we have it, the pattern that Ranjan's case followed: the unsolvable stress leading to depression that led to suppression of the immune system and then the B cell lymphoma! I have been crying this till I went hoarse but few believed me. But now I feel strong enough to assert my ideas, however idiosyncratic they may seem to doubting Cassandras.

Hence if we want Ranjan to heal and be cured we need to address first and foremost the cause of his chronic stress which sadly is still very much there. I will not reveal the details as they are too personal but have to work out a coping mechanism that will remove the toxic stress. In this case, it may just have to be a one way street.

The usual remedies suggested for dealing with stress are yoga, meditation, acupressure, music, biofeedback, relaxation and even just standing still. The net is replete with articles on the subject. One needs to find coping mechanisms and make mild life style changes.

In Ranjan's case I think he should begin each day with Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer:

God grant me the serenity 

 to accept the things I cannot change; 

 courage to change the things I can;

 and wisdom to know the difference