Women Motivate Men to Get Screened
Reported December 09, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — It is widely known that early screening is linked to prostate cancer survival, but men are less likely to be screened unless they live with a wife or significant other.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States, but early detection drastically improves the five-year survival rates. Researchers wanted to find out what makes men go for early screening. They had 2,447 Caucasian men between ages 40 and 79 complete a questionnaire regarding family history of prostate cancer and their concern about developing the disease.
The study revealed men with a family history of the deadly cancer were 50 percent more likely to be screened. Men who were worried about developing it were also almost twice as likely to be screened; however, men with a family history who lived alone were 40 percent less likely to be screened than those who were married or had a significant other living in their home.
“In terms of motivating people to get screened, there may be benefit in targeting wives or significant others as well as men,” Lauren P. Wallner, M.P.H., lead author and a graduate research associate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, 2008