Partners of Breast Cancer Patients at High Risk of Suffering Mental Issues

Partners of women who are fighting against breast cancer are at a higher risk of suffering from mental problems, a new report published in the journal Cancer reveals. Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen made an extensive study of more than a million men who were at least 30 years of age and who had lived with a partner for at least five years.

More than 20,000 men saw their partners suffer from breast cancer over a period of 13 years of which 180 men were hospitalized with various mental health problems while a large percentage also suffered from depression. The researchers suggested that the partners of those who suffer from breast cancer should also seek medical help to overcome their mental problems.

“We suggest that some sort of screening of the partners of cancer patients in general and those of breast cancer patients in particular for depressive symptoms might be important for preventing this devastating consequence of cancer”, lead researcher Professor Christoffer Johansen said.




Source-Medindia