Married Cancer Patients Live Longer Than Singles: Study

A large U.S. study uncovered the impact of marriage on cancer patients. The study confirmed that married people with cancer were more likely to live longer compared to singles.

In this new finding a team of researchers at Dana-Faber Cancer Institute reveals that married people diagnosed with cancer have greater survival chances  compared to unmarried or widowed patients.  The researchers also emphasize that  on diagnosing cancer at an early stage, married patients can receive more appropriate treatment at the earliest.

The researchers analyzed data from a large study group that involved more than seven lakh people who were diagnosed with cancer between 2004-2008 and who were a part of the long term health trial National Cancer Institute's 'Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program.'

The researchers basically focused on ten leading causes of cancer in the U.S. that involved lung, breast, prostrate, colorectal, esophageal, head and neck, liver/bile duct and non Hodgkin lymphoma cancer.

On analyzing the data they noticed that widowed and unmarried cancer patients were 53 percent less likely to receive appropriate therapy and they were 17 percent more likely to have metastatic cancer where the cancer spreads beyond its original site.

"Our data suggests that marriage can have a significant health impact for patients with cancer, and this was consistent among every cancer that we reviewed. We suspect that social support from spouses is what's driving the striking improvement in survival. Spouses often accompany patients on their visits and make sure they understand the recommendations and complete all their treatments," Ayal Aizer, MD MHS, chief resident of the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program and the paper's first author, said in a press release.

According to study's senior author Paul Nguyen, MD, a radiation oncologist at Dana-Farber and Brigham, this study is not an affirmation of marriage but passes a message to people who have a friend or loved one fighting cancer, to be there with them and help them to make it through this disease.

"As oncologists, we need to be aware of our patients' available social supports and encourage them to seek and accept support from friends and family during this potentially difficult time," he says.

The study is published in the journal of Clinical Oncology.