New research shows being with other people after a cancer diagnosis can help improve the state of mind of the patient.
When patients are diagnosed with cancer, it's important for them to not just stay home and retreat. Experts recommend patients get educated and empowered in what likely will be an uphill battle for them.
They also say social interaction can be an important factor in their recovery. Some cancer recovery groups offer coffee tastings, mixers and other events for people recently diagnosed.
"When somebody is diagnosed with cancer, they usually will report that they feel very isolated, they feel very alone," said Christy Andrews, the Executive Director,Cancer Support Community. "We have support groups, education programs, we have gentle exercise classes, nutrition classes, and then social activities."
Lie about your age
Go ahead lie about your age. It may be the very thing that helps you live a longer life.
If those fibbers truly believe that they are younger than what it says on their birth certificate, a new study shows they are among a group of people who have a lower death rate.
That's compared with those who felt their age or who even feel older than their years.
The new research letter is published in JAMA Internal Medicine online.
The study looked at data from from 6,489 people with an average age of 65.8 years who reported that they felt a little less than 10 years younger. What's interesting is most people in the study didn't feel like their actual age. Most said they felt about three years younger. Only a tiny percent, some 4.8 percent, felt at least a year older than their actual age.
When University College London researchers followed up on these people over the next eight years, the scientists found only a little over 14 percent of those who felt younger than their years had died. That was compared with the more than 24 percent of the people who reported feeling older or feeling their age who had died.
Some 18 percent of the people who felt like their chronological age died in that same time period.
"Possibilities include a broader set of health behaviors than we measured (such as maintaining a healthy weight and adherence to medical advice), and greater resilience, sense of mastery and will to live among those who feel younger than their age," the study concludes. "Self-perceived age has the potential to change, so interventions may be possible. Individuals who feel older than their actual age could be targeted with health messages promoting positive health behaviors and attitudes toward aging."