[UPI]
Patients with cancer who were married at the time of diagnosis live markedly longer compared with unmarried patients, U.S. researchers say.
In fact for some cancers, being married might be a more potent factor for cancer survival than chemotherapy, the study found.
Lead study author Dr. Ayal Aizer, a chief resident in radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said married patients were also more likely to be diagnosed with earlier-stage disease and much more likely to receive the appropriate therapy.
The study was the first to show a consistent and significant benefit of marriage on survival among each of the 10 leading causes of cancer-related death in the United States — lung, colorectal, breast, pancreatic, prostate, liver/bile duct, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck, ovarian and esophageal cancer, Aizer said.