Hutchens Cancer Prevention finds that it is a deeply unfortunate fact and one that we don’t want to admit to as a society but according to a U.S. study, women are six times more likely to end up separated or divorced upon being diagnosed with cancer than if their male counterpart were facing the same disease. This confirms earlier research of divorce/separation rates among cancer patients of 12%, which is similar to the genpop. However the rate has jumped to 21% when the woman was sick rather than 3% when the man was diagnosed with the disease.
It is interesting to note that the reason men leave a sick spouse is partially explained by their lesser ability to quickly adjust to becoming a caregiver and be the primary homemaker. Links were discovered between age and length of marriage and the probability of separation. Longer marriages seem to remain more stable however the older the woman, the more likely the partnership would end.
The study that Hutchens Cancer Prevention is reporting on was conducted with the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine. For the study, patients were divided into three diagnostic groups: those with malignant primary tumors, those with solid tumors with no central nervous system involvement, and those with multiple sclerosis. Approximately one half were women.
Chamberlain said the study was begun since doctors noticed that in their neuro-oncology practices, divorce occurred almost exclusively when the wife was the patient, but in all cases the woman was more likely to end up alone. Researchers also looked at the quality of life among the patients who separated or divorced.
They found that these patients used more psychotropics for depression, took part in less clinical trials, had a greater frequency of hospitalizations, were less likely to continue their courses of radiation therapy and it was more common for them to not die in their own homes.
The findings will be published in the journal Cancer. Medical professionals should be sensitive to potential marital problems in couples afflicted by a serious medical illness, especially when the one diagnose is a woman.
“Early identification and psychosocial intervention might reduce the frequency of divorce and separation, and in turn improve quality of life and quality of care,” claimed the researchers.
Cancer and Marriage: Four Couples