While women practice relaxation techniques, researchers study the effects of stress on their bodies. Dr. Bonnie McGregor is the principal investigator.

"When we confront something and we feel overwhelmed by it and we can't feel handle it then we have a stress response," she said.

It's a fact that too much tension wreaks havoc on our health.

But, Dr. McGregor wants to find out if reducing stress can strengthen the body's immune system and possibly prevent cancer.

The link has yet to be proven, but it makes sense considering stress usually leads to bad behavior.

"Poor diet, poor exercise, bad smoking behavior, there's a number of things that stress is associated with that infer increases risk for cancer," said Dr. McGregor.

With blood and saliva tests, Dr. McGregor monitors the group's physical responses to stress reduction techniques they've learned in class.

Relaxation exercises anyone can try, like simply taking a deep breath the next time you're stuck in traffic, or stopping for a reality check when your worries become over-blown.  

"And very often our thoughts are distorted and we teach them common thought disorders like catastrophizing and then how to challenge those thoughts and replace them with more accurate thoughts so that they will feel better," said Dr. McGregor.

The results from Dr. McGregor's research aren't final yet, but so far they seem to support the notion that reducing stress sure can't hurt in cancer prevention.