Female cancer victims 'more likely to be left by partners

Women who are informed that they have cancer or another serious illness are seven times more likely to become separated or divorced than men who receive similar news, the findings of a new study suggest 

Writing their findings up in the journal Cancer, a team of specialists based at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute have reported that, on average, 12 per cent of patients ended up divorced or separated over the five years to December 31st 2006 

While this average was deemed to be generally in line with the US average as a whole, looking closer the team discovered that men who become critically ill only have a three per cent chance of seeing their marriage break down 

In comparison, 21 per cent of women who are diagnosed with cancer or another serious condition end up separated or divorced, with an average of six months passing between diagnosis and a split 

Lead researcher Dr Marc Chamberlain, who is a practicing oncologist, conceded that the state of marriages prior to illness was not known 

He added, however: 'But the striking part is with life-threatening illness, how often women are abandoned compared to men. That does not speak very well of my gender 

Earlier this month, experts at Imperial College London reported that they have made a breakthrough in the fight against cancer, having identified a means of stopping cells forming around cancerous tumours