Arif Kamal: Loneliness – A risk factor for early cancer mortality

Arif Kamal posted the following on LinkedIn:

“To the tune of Jeopardy, one of my favorite TV shows of all time:

Answer: This is a risk factor for early #cancer mortality, that cuts across all cancers, that has a dose-response effect, and which has an effect that doesn’t seem to wear off over time.

Question: What is loneliness?

Correct.

While nearly half of cancer survivors report moderate or severe loneliness, this has only recently become a burgeoning area of study. For example, my colleagues Jingxuan Zhao, Jennifer Barsky Reese, Xuesong Han, and Robin Yabroff published one of the most eye-opening studies this year in cancer, reporting a few key findings in cancer survivors:

1.The 25/25/25/25 rule – 25% each report none/mild/moderate/severe loneliness.

2.33% – the loneliest group had a third higher risk of early mortality compared to those not/low lonely.

3.There was no observed plateau effect, such that mortality continued to worsen as long as a person had reported loneliness.

In this case, it is not true that “time will heal all things”.

So what to do?

Heard a brilliant talk from Rachel Thienprayoon, a national expert on organizational compassion who said simply:

‘Ask how someone is doing.’ And then when they say ‘fine’….

Ask again.

You can even add a kind observation: ‘I’ve been noticing that you seem different. Thought I’d ask again, how are you doing?’

As Rachel said it…..’Compassion is empathy in action’. So for the 18 million cancer survivors out there, the 2 million going through an active journey, or the bereaved of the 600,000 whose physical journey will end, reach out. And then reach out again. It will make a difference.”

Source: Arif Kamal/LinkedIn

Arif Kamal is the first-ever Chief Patient Officer for the American Cancer Society and drives efforts to advance cancer care. With experience at Duke University and the Duke Cancer Institute, he is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Population Health. He is also a Co-Founder of Prepped Health. Dr. Kamal’s expertise lies in oncology quality assessment, palliative care, and innovative technology solutions for patient engagement.