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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 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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Julia Rowland, director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Office of Cancer Survivorship, said the study carries an important public health message.
"We need to recognize how important caregivers are," she said. "Because social support is an important buffer for all sorts of outcomes -- not only for affording patients a better quality of life, but also to help them live longer.
"But when these relationships are stressed and go wrong, the opposite can occur," Rowland cautioned. "So we recognize that a survivor is not just the individual with the disease but also the caregiver. There is mutuality about the experience."
She added, "And as the population ages, this is going to be a growing concern for more and more of us who will carry a history of cancer. So it's very important that caregivers get the help they need, if they're going to be responsible for playing an important role in helping patients."
More information
To learn more about cancer and caregivers, visit the American Cancer Society.
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