Men who care for a wife with breast cancer have weaker immune systems, and more physical symptoms, such as headaches and abdominal pain, than did men whose wives had remained disease-free. And the higher the stress levels, the worse the effect on men, according to a new study done at Ohio State University.
Just to be clear: this is not to suggest that men shouldn’t care for their wives. The point is that it’s important to recognize that caregivers spend so much time focusing on the people they’re caring for that they don’t pay any attention to themselves. And the results—whether the caregiver is a man or a woman—can be devastating.
Clinicians caring for breast cancer patients could help their patients by considering the caregivers’ health as well, according to the researchers who conducted the study. Examples include: screening caregivers for stress symptoms and encouraging them to participate in stress management, relaxation or other self-care activities. “If you care for the caregiver, your patient gets better care, too,” said Kristen Carpenter, a postdoctoral researcher in psychology at Ohio State and a study co-author.
The research is published in a recent issue of the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
The men in the study whose wives had recurrent cancer reported nine symptoms, on average, and those whose wives were disease-free reported fewer than five symptoms, on average. These symptoms varied, but included headaches, gastrointestinal problems, coughing and nausea.
“Caregivers are called hidden patients because when they go in for appointments with their spouses, very few people ask how the caregiver is doing,” said Sharla Wells-Di Gregorio, lead author of the study and assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology at Ohio State University. “These men are experiencing significant distress and physical complaints, but often do not seek medical care for themselves due to their focus on their wives’ illness.”
Wells-Di Gregorio noted that the stress effect might have been even more pronounced than what they observed because disease-free spouses were more reluctant to participate in the study. “We found that many were not willing to participate because they said they didn’t want to think about cancer again,” she said.
You can read a more detailed description of the study and its results here. https://www.newswise.com/articles/view/588119/?sc=rsmn
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