According to a recent study, people who get divorced after they are diagnosed with cancer, are less likely to participate in potentially life-saving clinical trials. These are the ones who are more likely to be prescribed anti-depressants. In simple words, fighting for your life while being abandoned takes much of the energy from the fight. Marianne, who got married to her second husband just one year prior to her breast cancer diagnosis found this to be painfully true. “The relationship fell apart after that (her diagnosis with breast cancer)”, Marianne recalls. Her husband Gregor started staying out late on various pretences and was always ready with excuses for not taking Marianne to chemo. She observes that may be her fight would have been easier had she been alone. She was eventually recommended to see a psychiatrist and prescribed anti-depressants.
However, the study concluded that partners who have been together for a longer period of time are more likely to stay together during crises.
All is not lost, as there is a silver lining for the couple facing the unthinkable. Partners who gather courage to stay together for fighting the illness together have reported increased intimacy.
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