Patient research: Men and women show major differences in the way they seek and share information about cancer, according to a new study.
Men are far more likely to seek practical information about their illness and the latest medical treatments, a study of internet postings showed.
In contrast, women are more likely to seek emotional support and advice about the impact of cancer on their family and friends.
Professor of sociology Clive Seale, from the School of Social Sciences and Law at Brunel University, believes the findings could help inform those who support cancer patients. His research, which will be published in the May edition of Social Science and Medicine, involved two phases.
In the first, experts questioned 45 women with breast cancer and 52 men with prostate cancer regarding their use of the internet.
In the second phase, Prof Seale and academics from Oxford and Surrey analysed key words in online postings made by 1,053 cancer patients on two popular forums: www.prostate-cancer.org.uk and www.breastcancercare.org.uk.
They found that men's concerns clustered around treatments, tests, symptoms,procedures and side effects of treatment.
Women were more likely to seek social and emotional support, share personal experiences, talk about the impact of cancer on relationships and use words that referred to their feelings.
Prof Seale said: "This study highlights the ways in which male and female cancer patients deal with their illness. Accessing support groups and sharing cancer experiences online is a key coping mechanism for women.
"In contrast, men gather as much information as they can on their cancer type and treatments. It is important that we acknowledge the ways in which men and women cope with cancer and provide them with the types of information and support that they require."
The results may also have an impact on sufferers of other illnesses too.
Prof Seale said the results show that men could be missing out on help to deal with their feelings and relationships. Equally some women may be missing out on medical information, he said.
"One could imagine that each gender could benefit from what the other gender is interested in."
Prof Seale will also publish a further study shortly examining how women use the prostate cancer forum and men use the breast cancer forum.
He said about half of the people on the prostate cancer forum were women who had a loved one struck by the cancer. Men also joined the breast cancer forum and "tended to be those who had lost a partner, faced losing a partner or whose relationship was breaking down".
He said those men more often expressed themselves in an emotional way and discussed the impact on their closest relationships and their children. - (PA)