Do single people want to date a cancer survivor? A vignette study

A Pilot Study for the Development and Evaluation of an Educational Program to Reduce Stigma Toward Cancer and Cancer Survivors: Focusing on Dating and Marriage After Cancer Diagnosis

The marriage rate of cancer survivors is lower than that of the general population and their siblings. This appears to be attributable to negative images and stigma in society regarding cancer and cancer survivors. In order to improve images and decrease stigma regarding cancer and cancer survivors, this study aimed to develop an educational program that primarily focuses on dating and marriage after cancer diagnosis. The education program was conducted for university students, and among 67 participants who attended the education program, 61 participants completed a self-report questionnaire both before and after the program. The questionnaire included measures to assess reluctance to date or marry a cancer survivor, attitudes toward marriage and having children, and level of empathy. Scores on most items assessing reluctance decreased after the program; however, only three items showed a significant decrease: reluctance to date a cancer survivor if cancer recurred or metastasized, and reluctance if one's family objects to dating a cancer survivor. Both before and after the program, disease severity was the main cause for reluctance to date. In addition, empathetic concern was associated with reduced reluctance to date or marry a cancer survivor, while conservative attitudes toward marriage were associated with greater reluctance which was a result of familial concerns regarding such relationships. Some of the reluctance could be attributable to sociocultural values in Asia, where the choice of romantic partner is likely to be subject to familial influence.

Effect of Marital Status on Upper Digestive Tract Tumor Survival: Married Male Patients Exhibited a Better Prognosis

Purpose

Marital status has been associated with the outcomes in several types of cancer, but less is known about upper digestive tract tumors (UDTTs). The study aims to explore the effect of marital status on the survival outcomes of UDTT.

Methods

We collected patient cases of UDTT using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 1975 and 2016. The univariate analyses of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were performed using the Kaplan–Meier method. The multivariate survival analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard model.

Results

A total of 282,189 patients were included, with 56.42, 16.30, 13.33, and 13.95% of patients married, never married, divorced or separated, and widowed, respectively. The significant differences were observed among married, never-married, divorced or separated, and widowed patients with regard to the year of diagnosis, sex, age, race, pathological type, anatomical site, the number of primary tumor, grade, rate of surgery performed, radiotherapy, chemotherapy (p < 0.001). The proportions of patients with 3-year and 5-year OS were 54.22 and 48.02% in the married group, 46.96 and 41.12% in the never-married group, 44.24 and 38.06% in the divorced or separated group, 34.59 and 27.57% in the widowed group, respectively (p < 0.001); the proportions of patients with 3-year and 5-year CSS were 70.76 and 68.13% in the married group, 62.44 and 59,93% in the never-married group, 63.13 and 60.53% in the divorced or separated group, 62.11 and 58.89% in the widowed group, respectively (p < 0.001); all these data indicated married patients exhibited favorable OS and CSS than never-married, divorced or separated, and widowed patients. Men in the married group showed better OS (HR, 1.16; 95%CI: 1.11–1.22) and CSS (HR, 0.96; 95%CI: 0.92–1.23) than those in the never-married group.

Conclusion

This study reveals that marital status is an independent prognostic factor for OS and CSS of patients with UDTT. Married male patients with UDTT trend to have a better prognosis.