Treating Wife's Stress May Be Indirect Care For Men With Prostate Cancer

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330184017.htm

Treating Wife's Stress May Be Indirect Care For Men With Prostate Cancer

ScienceDaily (Mar. 31, 2008) - When a couple is dealing with cancer, a

partner's psychological distress might drag down the well-being of either

person, according to a new study of 168 married couples.

" Whether it is my own or my partner's, psychological distress may impact my

quality of life, " said lead researcher Youngmee Kim, director of Family

Studies at the American Cancer Society's Behavioral Research Center in

Atlanta.

The physical health of husbands seemed to be especially vulnerable to the

poor emotional well-being of their wives.

" We found an interesting pattern. The psychological distress of the female

partner seemed to have the greatest effect - whether the woman was the

breast cancer survivor or the caregiver of a man with prostate cancer. If

the female has higher level of psychological distress, the male partner will

have higher level of psychosomatic problems, " Kim said.