Cancer patients that are married when diagnosed with the fatal disease are more likely to live longer than unmarried cancer patients, researchers of a new study found.
Researchers of a new study say that there are many medical benefits of marriages too, with longer cancer survival rates and better odds of beating the fatal disease being some of them.
Researchers found that married patients diagnosed with cancer were more likely to live longer than patients who were not married. Researchers also noted that married people were more likely to be diagnosed with the disease in its early stages, making it easier to treat and increasing the odds of beating the disease.
"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," said Ayal Aizer, MD MHS, chief resident of the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program and the paper's first author. "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."
For the study, researchers examined 734,889 people who were diagnosed with cancer between 2004 and 2008. The ten leading causes of cancer deaths (lung, colorectal, breast, pancreatic, prostate, liver/bile duct, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck, ovarian, and esophageal cancer) were taken into consideration in the study. Demographic factors like age, sex, race, residence type, education and median household income were also taken into consideration.
Findings of the study revealed that unmarried patients were 17 percent more likely to develop metastatic cancer, which is known to spread from its original spot. Such patients were also 53 percent less likely to receive the appropriate therapy.
"We don't just see our study as an affirmation of marriage, but rather it should send a message to anyone who has a friend or a loved one with cancer: by being there for that person and helping them navigate their appointments and make it through all their treatments, you can make a real difference to that person's outcome," said the study's senior author Paul Nguyen, MD, a radiation oncologist at Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women's. "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."
