Thequality of a woman’s personal relationshipsseems to be as important as the size of your social media forpredict survival of breast cancer, as pointed out by a study released in the latest edition ofBreast Cancer Research and Treatment.
The researchers worked with 2,264 women who had been diagnosed in the early stages with invasive breast cancer between 1997 and 2000, and requested information about their personal relationships, establishing the following classification: socially isolated (few ties), moderately integrated or socially integrated (many ties).
“We detected thatwomen with small social networks had a significantly higher risk of mortality than those with large networks“explained Candyce H. Kroenke, from the Kaiser Permanente Health Research Center (USA) and co-author of the study, which revealed that socially isolated women are 34 percent more likely to die from breast cancer or other causes than those that are socially integrated In addition, the level of social support from friends and family is crucial for the evolution of this disease.
“Women with small networks and high levels of support were not at higher risk than those with large networks, but those with small networks and low levels of support,” adds Kroenke. In fact, according to the results of the studywomen with small networks and low levels of support are 61 percent more likely to die of breast cancerthan those with small networks and high levels of support.
