Study: Marriage Better than Chemo for Cancer Treatment
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 5:42AM Marriage has many benefits when it comes to raising children, buying a house, and having a hand to hold during life's toughest times.
But new research suggests that, for some cancer patients, having a husband or wife could be more beneficial than chemotherapy.
New research from Harvard University shows that, for 10 common kinds of cancer, being married means patients are 20 per cent less likely to die from the disease. Married men are most likely to benefit when it comes to cancer survival.
Academics found that people who were married were more likely to get diagnosed early, before tumours could spread, and more likely to have life-saving surgery. Amazingly in some forms of cancer, including breast and colon, the benefits of being married outweighed the stated benefit of chemotherapy.
The study, of 750,000 people including those with lung and prostate cancer, also found that the effect was larger in men than in women.
Unmarried cancer patients - including those who were widowed - were 17 per cent more likely to have metastatic cancer, which spreads beyond its original site and were 53 per cent less likely to receive the appropriate therapy.
Dr Ayal Aizer, chief resident of the Harvard Radiation Oncology Programme, said: '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.
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