Key result
~41% of breast cancer survivors report worsened relationships post-diagnosis, exceeding rates in prostate cancer survivors.
Why the study?
Relationship changes following a cancer diagnosis are prevalent yet remain underexplored.
Do relationship dynamics and mental health differ between patients diagnosed with breast versus prostate cancer?
Cross-Sectional (n=186)
Do relationship dynamics and mental health differ between patients diagnosed with breast versus prostate cancer?
Absolute Event Rate: 40.9% vs 11.1%
p-value: p=<0.001
Breast cancer patients report greater perceived negative changes in relationships post-diagnosis compared to prostate cancer patients, highlighting the need for mental health support.
Breast cancer survivors may report greater relationship strain; hypothesis-generating for gender-specific support needs in prospective studies.
Background: Relationship changes after cancer are prevalent yet underexplored. This investigation aimed to assess factors influencing relationship changes between participants receiving the 2 most common gender-specific cancer diagnoses: breast and prostate. Methods: Anonymous surveys were administered via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Eligible participants were 18 years or older and diagnosed with breast or prostate cancer. Relationship satisfaction and mental health were assessed via Personal Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-8), General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and Self-Esteem and Relationship Questionnaire. Results: Of the 186 study respondents, 85.4% (159) had breast cancer and 14.5% (27) had prostate cancer. More breast cancer participants reported that their relationship worsened after cancer diagnosis (breast: 40.9%, prostate: 11.1%), whereas a majority of prostate cancer patients reported improved relationships (breast: 17%, prostate: 66.7%; P < 0.001). However, most participants reported no relationship status change (breast: 66.7%, prostate: 77.8%; P = 0.508) and remained with the same partner postdiagnosis (breast: 84.9%; prostate: 77.8%). Breast cancer participants reported higher self-esteem compared with prostate cancer participants ( P = 0.019). There was no significant difference in overall Self-Esteem and Relationship Questionnaire ( P = 0.140), PHQ-8 ( P = 0.689), and GAD-7 ( P = 0.871) scores. Average PHQ-8 and GAD-7 scores indicated moderate depression (breast: 12.62, prostate: 12.88) and moderate anxiety (breast: 10.96, prostate: 11.06). Conclusions: Breast cancer participants reported greater perceived changes in their relationship postdiagnosis. This study supports routine, active, and pre-emptive involvement of a mental health provider for patients with cancer to improve mental health outcomes.
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Heath et al. (2025) conducted a cross-sectional in Breast or prostate cancer (n=186). Breast cancer diagnosis vs. Prostate cancer diagnosis was evaluated on Worsened relationship after cancer diagnosis (p=<0.001). Breast cancer survivors reported more worsened relationships post-diagnosis than prostate cancer survivors (40.9% vs 11.1%), whereas prostate cancer survivors reported more improvements (P<0.001).
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