New Delhi, October 15 (IANS). A recent large study has revealed that loneliness and social isolation can prove fatal for cancer patients. This research states that loneliness increases the risk of death not only from cancer but also from any other cause.
In this study led by scientists from the University of Toronto, Canada, data from 13 different researches were combined and examined. Overall, this research included information on more than 15 lakh cancer patients. Based on these data, researchers found that loneliness is common among people suffering from cancer.
The research results also revealed that loneliness increases the risk of death from cancer by about 11 percent. To arrive at this figure, researchers have also taken into account the number and size of several studies.
“The impact of loneliness and social isolation on cancer is not just related to the physical causes of the disease or the way it is treated, but it also impacts patients’ health in different ways,” the researchers said in a paper published online in the open-access journal BMJ Oncology.
This loneliness is caused by a variety of reasons. Firstly, it has a negative effect on the reaction of the body. Loneliness increases stress, which weakens the body’s immune system and increases problems like inflammation. All these things together can further aggravate the disease.
Apart from this, cancer patients sometimes have to face mental and emotional troubles. Many times, changes occur on the body during treatment, such as hair fall or facial changes, due to which patients feel isolated from society. In such a situation, their morale falls and they start feeling alone.
Cancer treatment sometimes takes a very long time, in which patients also suffer from problems like fatigue and mental weakness. Due to this, they start taking less part in social activities and distance from their old friends and relatives increases. Frequent hospital visits and treatment procedures also impact the patient’s daily life, leaving them disconnected from their earlier lives.
Researchers have considered this situation as serious and said that if further research proves this, then it will be considered necessary to investigate loneliness and mental condition during cancer treatment. This will help the patients to live a better life and will also increase their strength to fight the disease.
–IANS
PK/AS
