(March 24, 2008) -- Wives and other caregivers of men with prostate cancer may be at risk of anxiety, fatigue and other symptoms that make life harder than it needs to be.
The findings suggest their health shouldn't be ignored even when the focus is on the patient.
The research was presented recently by Youngmee Kim, director of the American Cancer Society's Family Studies Research, during the launch of an ACS "Hope Lodge" in New York City -- part of the society's nationwide network of free temporary housing for cancer patients undergoing treatment.
Kim said the finding, which is scheduled for publication in an upcoming issue of Annals of Behavioral Medicine , evolved from the premise that "cancer care-giving is equally distressing to the cancer caregiver as it is to the patient."
And, she stressed, "the issue has a great impact on society," given that nearly 11 million cancer survivors are currently living in the United States --a figure likely to rise as the population ages.
Kim suggested that the greater sensitivity observed among men could be a function not just of typical gender roles but also of related communication patterns.
"Females go out with friends and talk about their problems," she said. "But often a man's best friend is his wife, and if the wife is not emotionally available, then the man tends to physicalize the stress."
"But whether male or female, managing stress is very important for caregivers," Kim added. "Psycho-social support -- maybe through meeting with a local group of caregivers -- is a great resource for that. And it's also important to try to make sure there is always some open communication between the couple."
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