Los Angeles: Married people are far more likely to survive cancer compared to those who are single, a new study claims. Scientists from University of California (UC) San Diego in the US studied 60,000 people with six types of blood cancers and found that those with a spouse were a fifth more likely to survive.
According to researchers, married people were more likely to be ‘nagged’ by their partner to visit a doctor, and to feel they had ‘something to live for.’ There was a 20 per cent rise in the risk of death among those who were single. Researchers found that single men fared worse than women, with an overall heightened risk of 24 per cent. This shows that men benefit more from having a partner, according to Maria Elena Martinez from UC.
“Single patients often present at a later stage,” said Matthew Wieduwilt from UC. “If you are single you do not have someone at home nagging at you to get checked out, this is particularly true with men.