New study shows importance of marriage in improving cancer survival

A new research suggests that marriage may benefit cancer patients more than chemotherapy.

The study, conducted by experts from Harvard University, said that cancer patients who are married are 20% less likely to die from the disease, since they are more likely to get early diagnosis before the tumors can spread.

The academics noted that this theory can be applied in some forms of cancer, mainly breast and colon cancer, as well as lung and prostate cancer.

However, unmarried cancer patients - including those who were widowed - were 17% more likely to have metastatic cancer, which spreads beyond its original site and were 53% less likely to receive the appropriate therapy.

“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,” chief resident of the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program Dr Ayal Aizer said.

On the other hand, Dr. Paul Nguyen, the study's senior author, stressed that this analysis should not be seen as a disappointment for single people, stressing that the findings just showed the importance of strong social support, which could also be provided by family or close friends.

However researchers were unable to say exactly why marriage is so beneficial. One possibility is that patients with a spouse are more likely to undergo health screening which would diagnose cancer at an earlier stage.