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Cancer and stress in Scientology

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
I've been doing a little bit of looking, regarding why we have so many cancer deaths in Scientology, especially at the upper levels, and I felt like starting a fresh thread on it, to serve as a resource for Scientologists and ex-Scns coping with cancer and other chronic illnesses

From a National Institute of Health study
Impact of stress on cancer metastasis

Abstract

The influence of psychosocial factors on the development and progression of cancer has been a longstanding hypothesis since ancient times. In fact, epidemiological and clinical studies over the past 30 years have provided strong evidence for links between chronic stress, depression and social isolation and cancer progression. By contrast, there is only limited evidence for the role of these behavioral factors in cancer initiation. Recent cellular and molecular studies have identified specific signaling pathways that impact cancer growth and metastasis. This article provides an overview of the relationship between psychosocial factors, specifically chronic stress, and cancer progression.


The major cause of death from cancer is metastasis that is resistant to conventional therapy [1]. Primary neoplasms are biologically heterogeneous and the process of metastasis consists of a series of sequential and selective steps that few cells can successfully complete. The outcome of cancer metastasis depends on multiple interactions between metastatic cells and homeostatic mechanisms that are unique to a given organ micro environment [2]. Therefore, the treatment of metastasis should be targeted not only against cancer cells, but also against the host factors that contribute to and support the progressive growth and survival of metastatic cancer cells. Clinical and epidemiological studies over the last 30 years have identified psychosocial factors including stress, chronic depression and lack of social support as risk factors for cancer progression [3-6]. Whereas evidence for the role of psychosocial factors in cancer initiation is limited and some-what contradictory [7-10], support is stronger for links between psychological factors such as stress, depression and social isolation and disease progression [11,12]. Chronicity of negative affect, as manifested by depressed mood or hopelessness, appears to have stronger relationships with outcomes than do stressful events, suggesting that sustained activation of negative affective pathways may provide the strongest links to cancer progression [13-16]. Moderators of stress, such as social support, have been frequently studied with respect to cancer outcomes. Social support refers to an individual’s perceived satisfaction with social relationships and is thought to play a major role in buffering psychological and biological stress responses [17]. Several studies have linked high levels of social support to improved clinical outcomes in cancer patients. For example, in breast cancer patients, social support has been related to longer survival in several large-scale studies [18-20], although negative findings were noted in some studies [21-23]. Collectively, emerging evidence has shown stress and specific psychosocial factors to be associated with key elements of the metastatic cascade in both animal and human models. In this article, we review the biological processes affected by chronic stress and the related pathways and discuss implications for cancer management.

What happens to Scientologists, particularly in the upper OT levels?

They are under a lot of stress, and their social support networks are crippled.

Let's examine each of those two factors:

Stress: People on the OT levels are under constant pressure to come up with fresh money. OT eligibility and preps takes longer than the tech estimate. They have an "ethics sit" which can be handled with a generous contribution to IAS. They are ordered to sec checking at their own expense. They are ordered to get the next level paid for so that they can do an uninterrupted sequence and don't have to pay for more OT eligibility/preps if the leave and return. They have to take out loans and liquidate their retirement plans and mortgage their homes. It all creates lots of stress.

Social support networks are crippled: What is your social support network? It's the set of people with whom you feel safe talking about the problems in your life. Scientologists don't have that. They are not allowed to talk about their case. They are not allowed to express doubts or anger regarding Scientology. They can't even talk to their spouses, who are required to submit Knowledge Reports about any hint of "entheta" or disaffection. The net result is the Scientologist feels increasingly isolated, with nobody they can totally trust, nobody they can tell anything to and feel confident that it won't get back to the Ethics Officer, whether through a KR or from it coming up in a sec check. An upper level scientologist has no social support network.

The end result is that a Scientologist is much more likely than the average person to have reduced immunity and higher vulnerability to cancer.
 

Out/Int

Patron with Honors
What a good thread for newly outers that have left the building - to read and discuss with some of the ole timers that know a lot more of what Scientological horrors stories peppering the internet daily.

Thanks for this thread.

I saw a heap ton of people get sick and die in Scientology. Such a minuscule group and so many DEATHS.

Young and healthy adults - dropped dead like flies.

A few suicides too and that the Co$ hid any details whilst they sprayed some rumor about how the person was a DB / Criminal / No Case Gain SP or they said "they say the internet" and they may have ...except they killed themselves because they could not handle the fact they were lied to, duped and betrayed beyond belief.
 

EZ Linus

Cleared Tomato
Great thread.

Stress, also connected to hypertension which causes heart attacks and strokes, and all sorts of other shit -- as well as auto immune disorders like multiple sclerosis and lupus. I know at least one exScnist who has all three of those things.
 

WildKat

Gold Meritorious Patron
Strokes and also dementia as well. And I'm sure the stress and loss of social network exacerbates those conditions as well. Not to mention the feeling of total failure, that these things should not be happening to such "able beings".

It's pretty sad.
 

Out/Int

Patron with Honors
Strokes and also dementia as well. And I'm sure the stress and loss of social network exacerbates those conditions as well. Not to mention the feeling of total failure, that these things should not be happening to such "able beings".

It's pretty sad.

Most of the Scientologists in that meat grinding staff positions are at "total failure" and "being nothing" while they wax on smiles for the public.

They are poor, broke and grinding away at draining the last dime they can out of their own kids and parents.

Sickening

All for nothing!:nervous:
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
Most of the Scientologists in that meat grinding staff positions are at "total failure" and "being nothing" while they wax on smiles for the public.

They are poor, broke and grinding away at draining the last dime they can out of their own kids and parents.

Sickening

All for nothing!:nervous:

I've been staff, Sea Org, and public. Personally, I've seen more stress as public.

On staff and SO, I tended to go numb. It was a daily grind, I was poor, I needed sleep, but after a while I stopped caring. When you don't have any more caring left inside you, there is no more stress.
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
Mayo Clinic: Chronic stress puts your health at risk

Your body is hard-wired to react to stress in ways meant to protect you against threats from predators and other aggressors. Such threats are rare today, but that doesn't mean that life is free of stress.

On the contrary, you undoubtedly face multiple demands each day, such as shouldering a huge workload, making ends meet and taking care of your family. Your body treats these so-called minor hassles as threats. As a result you may feel as if you're constantly under assault. But you can fight back. You don't have to let stress control your life.

Understanding the natural stress response

When you encounter a perceived threat — a large dog barks at you during your morning walk, for instance — your hypothalamus, a tiny region at the base of your brain, sets off an alarm system in your body. Through a combination of nerve and hormonal signals, this system prompts your adrenal glands, located atop your kidneys, to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.

Adrenaline increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure and boosts energy supplies. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues.

Cortisol also curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation. It alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. This complex natural alarm system also communicates with regions of your brain that control mood, motivation and fear.
When the natural stress response goes haywire

The body's stress-response system is usually self-limiting. Once a perceived threat has passed, hormone levels return to normal. As adrenaline and cortisol levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to baseline levels, and other systems resume their regular activities.

But when stressors are always present and you constantly feel under attack, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on.

The long-term activation of the stress-response system — and the subsequent overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones — can disrupt almost all your body's processes. This puts you at increased risk of numerous health problems, including:

Anxiety
Depression
Digestive problems
Headaches
Heart disease
Sleep problems
Weight gain
Memory and concentration impairment

That's why it's so important to learn healthy ways to cope with the stressors in your life.

(more at the link)

There are many Scientologists who live in a chronic state of stress. It's not good for your health to be at "Red Alert!" much of the time. As the article notes, at "red alert", your body flows its energy to those systems which are important to "fight or run" response. Energy gets taken away from your body's immune system (which makes sense in a situation when you suddenly find yourself facing a hungry wolf -- fighting off germs and cancer cells can wait until you have fought off the immediate threat).

But, keep the stress response going too long, and bad things start happening with your body.
 

Irayam

Patron with Honors
And add to the top of all these factors quite a lot of tobacco and almost no medical care (either by "choice" or lack of money) and voilà...

Irayam
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
And add to the top of all these factors quite a lot of tobacco and almost no medical care (either by "choice" or lack of money) and voilà...

Irayam

Yep, both important factors.

Let's not forget dental care under the category of "medical care". Bad teeth can introduce infection into the rest of the body.

There is a great deal of importance to having yearly health checkups, which include comprehensive blood tests to check for blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and indications of cancer. Scientologists often don't do that, or go to a chiropractor or herbalist, or such.

Last year I had my yearly checkup. As part of it, they did an EKG test. When the doc looked at it, she told me to report to the hospital emergency room for more tests. If she hadn't caught that there was a situation there, I might be dead now.
 

WildKat

Gold Meritorious Patron
Last year I had my yearly checkup. As part of it, they did an EKG test. When the doc looked at it, she told me to report to the hospital emergency room for more tests. If she hadn't caught that there was a situation there, I might be dead now.

Is EKG standard testing for your age group? Anyway, glad they did it and caught the condition. Thinking of asking for one of those myself. Had a routine check-up last year and they did not do it. Only recommended colonoscopy.
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
Is EKG standard testing for your age group? Anyway, glad they did it and caught the condition. Thinking of asking for one of those myself. Had a routine check-up last year and they did not do it. Only recommended colonoscopy.

EKG is not a routine part of checkups these days, but I reported that I was getting occasional twinges of chest pain when exerting myself.
 

RogerB

Crusader
Two points here:

1) the stress and anxiety when on the solo levels in the cult is very much part of the cult's management practice intended by them to get their "stats" . . . the pre-OT client is constantly threatened by the system to "keep his/her stats up" . . . and any case difficulties encountered (usually caused by bum handling by the cult, not by any real goof by the pre-OT) threatens "loss of your eternity" if you don't buckle to the system and do as it dictates.
The cult is killing itself with this scenario alone . . .

2) On the EKG thing . . . best is what is called a "Calcium Count" scan of the thorax. I had one last year (I won't bore you with details of why my med consultant MD suggested it) . . . it is very, very low dose "x-ray" scan of the thorax to pick up any sludge, plaque or calcification in the area.:biggrin::coolwink: Reason being, this is the shit that gums up the system and brings you down . . . the good news is that we found I am as clean as a whistle (and there are reasons for that!!!!)

My Doc was a little amazed and impressed, and I related to him the why and how come . . .
Even my aorta down through my abdomen is absolutely clear, free and solid as a rock (no aneurysms).

The scan also shows the integrity of bone density in the area . . . i.e., absence of osteoporosis.

Looks like youse are going to have to put up with me for the next 100 years!:biggrin:
 

cleared cannibal

Silver Meritorious Patron
I've been staff, Sea Org, and public. Personally, I've seen more stress as public.

On staff and SO, I tended to go numb. It was a daily grind, I was poor, I needed sleep, but after a while I stopped caring. When you don't have any more caring left inside you, there is no more stress.

Only been public but the pressure and stress is relentless if they know you have something to give. Couple that with some family members who are believers and the threat of disconnection and stress maybe an understatement . On kind of a play on Hubbard's "we would rather see you dead than unable" statement, it is kind of like we will get your money and soul or you will be declared suppressive.

I have noticed the last year or so they tend to back off and leave you alone some if you start throwing entheta at them. Has to be private comms not public of course. I think all the negative PR has had an effect. Not exactly sure how because the clams supposedly don't generally see it so I don't know if there has been new policy handed down from the top on how to deal with members and their entheta or that the reggs and execs do see more of this anti Scn things than they let on about.

I find it somewhat amusing that illness and death is treated as an an out ethics condition. Of the OTs I have known about that died there was really nothing mentioned about them officially. It is kind of like MacAurthur said about old soldiers, they just fade away.
 

TheOriginalBigBlue

Gold Meritorious Patron
Only been public but the pressure and stress is relentless if they know you have something to give. Couple that with some family members who are believers and the threat of disconnection and stress maybe an understatement . On kind of a play on Hubbard's "we would rather see you dead than unable" statement, it is kind of like we will get your money and soul or you will be declared suppressive.

I have noticed the last year or so they tend to back off and leave you alone some if you start throwing entheta at them. Has to be private comms not public of course. I think all the negative PR has had an effect. Not exactly sure how because the clams supposedly don't generally see it so I don't know if there has been new policy handed down from the top on how to deal with members and their entheta or that the reggs and execs do see more of this anti Scn things than they let on about.

I find it somewhat amusing that illness and death is treated as an an out ethics condition. Of the OTs I have known about that died there was really nothing mentioned about them officially. It is kind of like MacAurthur said about old soldiers, they just fade away.

At Flag there is a lot of moving around between other administrative and berthing buildings but at Big Blue you can virtually spend all your time inside except for a jaunt across the street to AO, the admin building behind it or around to Pubs. We even used to be able to go under Berendo to AO through a tunnel but I understand the city made them close it off. The ramp between the Main Building and ASHO was a brief respite with open windows on both sides but I suspect around the time of the Anonymous demonstrations they covered the windows with paper or something and never took it down. Blacking out windows and doors now seems to be SOP everywhere - very claustrophobic and paranoid.

For this thread I'd also add that stressful situations that stimulate adrenal hormones also tend to compromise reasoning capacity and perception can become tunnel visioned or narrowly focused. There is a trade off for response time and alertness. Police are very familiar with how witnesses have difficulty remembering things they clearly saw even though they were pumping adrenaline. Unless you become accustomed to functioning under these situations it is difficult to develop a balance. Scientologists may think that the tech and policy has equipped them to handle this long term but from my experience it grinds them down just like everyone else if not worse. Part of enduring stress in Scientology is self deception and compartmentalizing the fact that you are being used and manipulated and there is always some level of self awareness that that is happening.

And being in the Sea Org is like being in a clan of meerkats. Your buddies keep disappearing and you know it's just a matter of time before you join them.
 

Enthetan

Master of Disaster
An email regarding Robin Hanses, wife of Mark Hanses. Robin was a Reg at Seattle Org from around the mid-1980's until a year or so ago:

Dear Friends,

I am sending this out to those friends who might not as of yet received the latest news about Robin’s condition.

Robin requested to go onto, and has been on, hospice care for about a week now.

She has made preparations for her funeral (which she refers to as her “party”) and has definite postulates for her continued involvement in, and future with, Dianetics and Scientology. This is all very real to her as she had already been involved with the movement previously and has no doubts that she will find it again and continue working with it. She has been taking a very spiritual look at the whole thing.

The estimates of how much time she has with this current body range from 1-2 weeks up to the order of magnitude of months. (We have two different estimates from two different hospice nurses.)

Robin is currently seeing visitors and making and receiving both phone calls and text messages. Her phone number is xxx-xxx-xxx. Do not leave a voice message but feel free to send a text message if you want for the purposes of communicating to her in general and/or to set up a time to talk.

We thank you for your love and support of Robin in the form of friendship and fellowship over the years, for past loans and gifts for her auditing and for being on the Bridge yourself

Best,

Mark Hanses

Part of the toll of being on staff. I'm going to guess that her cancer was diagnosed too late to do anything about.

I took out the phone number. Anybody who knew Robin can PM me and I'll pass it along.
 

RogerB

Crusader
For you guys with interest in knowing about handling cancer. Two links with very valuable and accurate and helpful info from my morning traffic . . .

A Surprising & Lesser Known Way To Prevent Multiple Cancers



Snipped:
Looking for a reason to exercise? How does cancer prevention and treatment sound?

It’s well known that exercise is essential in the treatment of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. But now, scientific research is indicating that being physically active is key to a lifestyle that may prevent and even help treat many forms of cancer. Exercise may be a side-effect free alternative to suffering the ravages of cancer.

It’s been known for some time that exercise may play an important role in preventing three types of cancer: colon, breast, and endometrial. More current research swells that number to over 13. Let’s take a look at some of that research and the new study that expands exercise’s potential to stave off cancer.

Snipped

And . .
http://tinyurl.com/zcxbqko

Apple seeds and cancer: what the government has been hiding from you for years

This is a very important and insightful article giving the exact and correct info on the what and how of the compounds in certain seeds do their job to kill cancer . . . also exposed is the fraudulent "research" done at Sloan Kettering to discredit this almost no-cost effective treatment of its biggest money-making no-cure treatment of cancer.

I've not attempted to snip it . . .

/
 

Out/Int

Patron with Honors
I've been doing a little bit of looking, regarding why we have so many cancer deaths in Scientology, especially at the upper levels, and I felt like starting a fresh thread on it, to serve as a resource for Scientologists and ex-Scns coping with cancer and other chronic illnesses

From a National Institute of Health study
Impact of stress on cancer metastasis



What happens to Scientologists, particularly in the upper OT levels?

They are under a lot of stress, and their social support networks are crippled.

Let's examine each of those two factors:

Stress: People on the OT levels are under constant pressure to come up with fresh money. OT eligibility and preps takes longer than the tech estimate. They have an "ethics sit" which can be handled with a generous contribution to IAS. They are ordered to sec checking at their own expense. They are ordered to get the next level paid for so that they can do an uninterrupted sequence and don't have to pay for more OT eligibility/preps if the leave and return. They have to take out loans and liquidate their retirement plans and mortgage their homes. It all creates lots of stress.

Social support networks are crippled: What is your social support network? It's the set of people with whom you feel safe talking about the problems in your life. Scientologists don't have that. They are not allowed to talk about their case. They are not allowed to express doubts or anger regarding Scientology. They can't even talk to their spouses, who are required to submit Knowledge Reports about any hint of "entheta" or disaffection. The net result is the Scientologist feels increasingly isolated, with nobody they can totally trust, nobody they can tell anything to and feel confident that it won't get back to the Ethics Officer, whether through a KR or from it coming up in a sec check. An upper level scientologist has no social support network.

The end result is that a Scientologist is much more likely than the average person to have reduced immunity and higher vulnerability to cancer.

The stress is not only for Oat Tea's...$cienctology creates STRESS for EVERYONE in Scientology.

Everything you described above is what I experienced in Scientology ALL the time.

Whether you are on the OatTea levels or just starting on the Bridge - Scientology is going to create NOTHING BUT STRESS with the mind fucking constantly. Financial stress, stress about "ethics", stress about being, doing and donating enough to the cult...it is a constant mind fucking racket.

Then there are the staffer's and Sea Org Slaves...talk about stress. Talk about NO SUPPORT. Holy Xenu - it is rough on these people. NO money, no compassion, no care, no love, nothing - you get nothing but stress. Screamed at, made wrong, abused and neglected.

I saw many people die of cancer at young ages in Scientology. It is not just exclusive to the Oat Tea's.

With that in mind - the Oat Teas DIE of it because the stress has been for a VERY LONG DURATION and THAT IS SCIENCE.

SCIENTOLOGY KILLS!
 
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Enthetan

Master of Disaster
Another article on the link between chronic sleep deprivation (like what happens to too many Scientologists, especially on staff) and cancer:

‘Catastrophic’ lack of sleep in modern society is killing us, warns leading sleep scientist

(snip)
Electric lights, television and computer screens, longer commutes, the blurring of the line between work and personal time, and a host of other aspects of modern life have contributed to sleep deprivation, which is defined as less than seven hours a night.
But this has been linked to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity and poor mental health among other health problems. In short, a lack of sleep is killing us.

(snip)
“Once you know that after just one night of only four or five hours’ sleep, your natural killer cells – the ones that attack the cancer cells that appear in your body every day – drop by 70 per cent per cent, or that a lack of sleep is linked to cancer of the bowel, prostate and breast, or even just that the World Health Organisation has classed any form of night-time shift work as a probable carcinogen, how could you do anything else?”
 
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