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J Cancer Surviv (2009) 3:6671 DOI 10.1007/s11764-008-0078-6
Marriage after cancer in older adulthood
Astri Syse & Gjril Bergva Aas
Received: 30 October 2008 /Accepted: 27 December 2008 /Published online: 16 January 2009 # The Author(s) 2009. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
AbstractIntroduction Cancers impact on family formation in older adulthood is not well described. Marriage rates among older adults were therefore explored.
Method Data on the unmarried Norwegian population aged 4580 in 19742001 (N=306 000) was retrieved from the Cancer Registry, the Central Population Register, and population censuses. Marriage rates for 27600 persons diagnosed with cancer were compared to those of the general population by means of discrete-time hazard regression models.
Results Men with cancer had a similar marriage rate as cancer-free men, whereas women experienced a 25% marriage deficit after cancer. This deficit was most pronounced after ovarian (OR 0.48) and breast (OR 0.69) cancer. Marriage rates decreased with time from diagnosis. No cancer forms elevated marriage rates.
Conclusion Marriage rates among older male cancer survivors are similar to those of the general population. Ovarian and breast cancer in older women was associated with pronounced marriage deficits. A possible explanation is that these gender-specific cancers relate to aspects of persons psychological well-being, body image, and sense of femininity. Long-term adverse treatment effects are also common for the cancers in question. To explore explanations further, more details on treatment and illness progression are needed.
Implications for cancer survivors Increased awareness of how ovarian and breast cancer may affect (prospects of)
interpersonal relationships is valuable for cancer survivors and clinicians, and may facilitate communication of relevant, related issues during consultations. Our findings may suggest a need for more extensive psychosocial follow-up after these gender-specific cancer forms in older women, but further research is clearly warranted.
Keywords Cancer survivors . Marriage . Adult . Breast cancer . Ovarian cancer . Neoplasm . Population-based
Introduction
Having a life partner is of great importance for persons life satisfaction [1]. Studies suggest that persons with poor health are less likely than others to marry and to have satisfactory and long-lasting relationships [25]. Cancer does not, however, necessarily have the same impact on family relations as other common illnesses. The development of a malignant disease is often...