Our partners may suffer severe depression

In today's news: a large study done by Danish researchers of >20,000 men whose partners had breast cancer found that these men were 39% more likely to be hospitalized with an affective disorder. See: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-82977.html

Somehow (the fates were with me on that day-lol), I talked my sweet hubbie into seeing a psychiatrist many years ago. Luckily, he and the therapist really bonded and he still goes faithfully every 6 months.

My gut was that he needed his own support and I talked him into it by convincing him that it was important to my healing that he also take care of himself. Of course, he gave me all of the usual arguments, but he did go and it has helped me because it makes me feel less guilty about being sick and having him have to deal with my illness.

“A diagnosis of breast cancer not only affects the life of the patient but may also seriously affect the partner,” said Prof. Johansen. “We suggest that some sort of screening of the partners of cancer patients in general and of those of breast cancer patients in particular for depressive symptoms might be important for preventing this devastating consequence of cancer.” Prof. Johansen also advocates for integrating spouses in the clinical treatment of cancer.