Loneliness could be deadly for cancer patients: American Cancer Society

Support groups are important after a cancer diagnosis, the study suggests.Researchers looked at data from the 2008-2018 Health and Retirement Study, examining nearly 3,450 cancer survivors aged 50 and older. They kept track of participants through 2020.

Every four years, researchers assessed how lonely the participants were and then separated them into four categories: low/no loneliness, mild loneliness, moderate loneliness and high loneliness. The study found cancer survivors that reported feeling more lonely had “higher hazard ratios” — which indicated higher mortality risks — when compared to the low/no loneliness group.There was a higher mortality risk in patients who reported feeling lonely.the importance of cancer patients having a support group to reply on, and suggested implementing programs to screen those for loneliness in order to provide social support.

“One approach to reduce their loneliness is to connect with other people who also have had cancer or to join a support group and share their experience,” Zhao said. “Cancer survivors can also reach out to social workers, therapists or other health professionals to express their concerns and seek help.”

The authors noted that findings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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