Many Australian patients wrongly believe financial stress causes cancer.

In the first project conducted on Cancer, Lifestyle and Evaluation of Risk (CLEAR) Study data, Cancer Council researchers uncovered a number of myths believed by Australian patients to have been the cause of their cancer.

They found that the number one reason given is stress about money and their mortgage. This was placed above smoking, obesity, and family history.

Of the 2,850 cancer patients in the survey, nearly half had no idea what caused their cancer, and a quarter thought the disease could not be prevented.

This is important for carers of people with cancer to understand, because as the carer, you may be able to influence more protective lifestyle and dietary changes.

The study also revealed a division in the opinions of cancer patients depending on whether or not their type of cancer had a well known cause.

Breast cancer patients were 60 per cent more likely to blame stress than lung cancer patients, who understood the link to smoking.

“Breast cancer patients were the most uncertain about what caused their cancer and when faced with no tangible explanation, many blamed stress from the financial pressures of modern living,” said Associate Professor Freddy Sitas, lead study author from Cancer Council NSW’s research department.

“Stress is linked to several health problems, but it does not cause cancer. My big concern is that if the community is unsure about what causes the disease, people may not take the right lifestyle choices to prevent it.

“We know that about 30 per cent of cancers can be prevented by making some really simple lifestyle choices.

“While stress has no direct impact on the incidence of cancer, it might trigger bad habits, such as smoking, over eating or increased drinking.

“Positive actions that people can take to reduce the risk of cancer are to eat properly, exercise regularly, stop smoking, minimise their alcohol intake and stay out of the sun. They should also be aware of their family history for hereditary conditions and make use of national cancer screening programs.”

This is the area in which carers can have a big influence.

The CLEAR study aims to compile the most comprehensive information to date on the lifestyle and genetic factors that influence cancer in the NSW community.

Those affected by cancer are encouraged to join the study and to encourage others to join.

For more information, visit www.clearstudy.org.au or ring 1800 500894.

Meanwhile, a researcher supported by the Cancer Council NSW has made an important breakthrough into why some cancers are hereditary.

Professor Robyn Ward and her team discovered a way that tiny genetic changes can turn off an important cancer-preventing gene. They studied a West Australian family, attempting to find out why many family members developed cancer at a young age.

Normally, inherited cancer is due to a missing or mutated anti-cancer gene, but this family appeared to have all their anti-cancer genes intact. Instead, one gene (called MLH1) was simply ‘switched off’, or methylated.

This was interesting, as methylation normally isn’t passed on in families. The researchers found a tiny change, or ‘spelling mistake’, in the DNA near the anti-cancer gene. This ‘spelling mistake’ acted as a ‘magnet’, attracting methylation and turning the gene off.

Colorectal cancer is one of the more preventable cancers if it is caught early, but most people don’t have any symptoms until it is at an advanced stage.

This discovery will help diagnose people at risk of colorectal cancer, as well as opening up new ways of understanding how cancer is passed on in families.

The research was funded by a Strategic Research Partnership grant of over $1.3 million from Cancer Council NSW. It has been published and featured on the front cover of Cancer Cell, one of the world’s most prestigious academic publications.