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April 23rd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda MONDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) — The stress of caring for a
wife with breast cancer can harm a man’s health, and this effect can
continue for years after her treatment ends, new research says.
The Ohio State University study of 32 men found that those who had the
highest levels of stress related to their wives’ cancer were most likely
to have physical symptoms — such as headaches and abdominal pain — and
weaker immune responses.
Previous research has suggested that people with weakened immune
systems are more susceptible to infection and might not respond well to
vaccines.
The median age of the men in the study was 58, and they had been
married for an average of 26 years.
“Guilt, depression, fear of loss — all of those things are stressful.
And this is not an acute stressor that lasts a few weeks; it’s a chronic
stress that lasts for years,” study co-author Kristen Carpenter, a
postdoctoral researcher in psychology, said in a university news
release.
The findings, published in the journal Brain, Behavior and
Immunity, suggest that doctors caring for breast cancer patients could
help their patients by considering their caregivers’ health, too, the
researchers said.
This could include screening caregivers for stress symptoms and
encouraging them to participate in stress management, relaxation or other
self-care therapies.
“If you care for the caregiver, your patient gets better care too,”
Carpenter said.
“Caregivers are called hidden patients because when they go in for
appointments with their spouses, very few people ask how the caregiver is
doing,” study author Sharla Wells-Di Gregorio, an assistant professor of
psychiatry and psychology, said in the news release. “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.”
More information
Men Against Breast Cancer provides resources for men
caring for women with breast cancer.
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