Cancer Hard on Marriages
May 12, 2001 (San Francisco) -- Cancer can be life threatening, but if the patient is a married woman, cancer may also be marriage threatening. Michael J. Glantz, MD says that cancer is associated with an "exorbitant increase" in divorce and "women carry the burden of this effect."
Glantz says that it is not unusual for women to give up promising careers or leave high-profile jobs to take care of a sick husband, but "you don't hear about men doing that."
Glantz presented his findings about cancer and marriage at the American Society of Clinical Oncologists meeting here on Saturday. Glantz studied brain cancer patients treated at the University of Massachusetts, where he was an associate professor. He is now an associate professor at the University of Arizona, Barrow Institute in Phoenix.
Of 214 patients with brain tumors, women were almost eight times more likely to undergo separation or divorce after diagnosis than were men diagnosed with brain tumors, Glantz says. Among 193 patients with other types of cancer, women were 12 times more likely to have marital disruptions, he says. He also studied 107 patients who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and discovered that women with MS were seven times more likely to be divorced, but Glantz says this result may be skewed because MS is much more common among women than men.
Breast cancer expert Larry Norton, MD, tells WebMD that "about 5% of my married breast cancer patients end up with severe marital disruptions." Norton, director of breast cancer research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, says, "I now basically counsel women right from the start that their marriages are at risk." Norton is the new president of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists.
Glantz tells WebMD that it is unclear if years married can reduce the divorce risk but says "being younger than 50 at the time of diagnosis was also associated with a higher rate of divorce." Younger patients, he says, are likely to be married for fewer years.
Glantz specializes in brain tumors, and he says that aggressive brain tumors were highly associated with marital disruption. "These diagnoses almost always mean death, and it may be that men think that their wives will get better support from family or from their children when they have a fatal disease."
Glantz says that it is not unusual for women to give up promising careers or leave high-profile jobs to take care of a sick husband, but "you don't hear about men doing that."
Glantz presented his findings about cancer and marriage at the American Society of Clinical Oncologists meeting here on Saturday. Glantz studied brain cancer patients treated at the University of Massachusetts, where he was an associate professor. He is now an associate professor at the University of Arizona, Barrow Institute in Phoenix.
Of 214 patients with brain tumors, women were almost eight times more likely to undergo separation or divorce after diagnosis than were men diagnosed with brain tumors, Glantz says. Among 193 patients with other types of cancer, women were 12 times more likely to have marital disruptions, he says. He also studied 107 patients who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and discovered that women with MS were seven times more likely to be divorced, but Glantz says this result may be skewed because MS is much more common among women than men.
Breast cancer expert Larry Norton, MD, tells WebMD that "about 5% of my married breast cancer patients end up with severe marital disruptions." Norton, director of breast cancer research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, says, "I now basically counsel women right from the start that their marriages are at risk." Norton is the new president of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists.
Glantz tells WebMD that it is unclear if years married can reduce the divorce risk but says "being younger than 50 at the time of diagnosis was also associated with a higher rate of divorce." Younger patients, he says, are likely to be married for fewer years.
Glantz specializes in brain tumors, and he says that aggressive brain tumors were highly associated with marital disruption. "These diagnoses almost always mean death, and it may be that men think that their wives will get better support from family or from their children when they have a fatal disease."