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

"Any time when we confront something and we feel overwhelmed by it and we can't feel handle it then we have a stress response," said Dr. Bonnie McGregor.

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 increased risk for cancer," said Dr. McGregor.

Dr. McGregor is the principal researcher on the Health SMART Study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

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

They are relaxation exercises anyone can try, such as simply taking a deep breath the next time you're stuck in traffic or stopping for a reality check when your worries become overblown.  

"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.

Exercise also works as a great stress reliever, along with treating yourself to a massage or spending the day with friends and family.

"Positive social support, we all know if you have a problem relationship that can be a source of stress also, very potent source of stress, but in general social support has been known to buffer the effects of stress. It's very powerful," 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.

"So there's our body trying to fight things here and then there's the tumor trying to keep a toe-hold here and anything we can do to effect the balance I think is helpful so if we can do relaxation and stress management I think its going to keep our body strong, so it helps us fight off cancer and other disease," she said.

For information about the Health SMART study call (206) 667-7267 or e-mail: healthsmart@fhcrc.org