BIRMINGHAM — Cancer patients who consider the length of their lives to be “in God’s hands” are more willing than others to spend money on treatments that might extend their lives, a new study shows.
Michelle Martin, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, based her research on findings of a National Cancer Institute study of 4,214 patients with colorectal and lung cancer.
The study, reported in a recent issue of the journal Cancer, also found blacks were more willing to spend all their resources to extend their lives than members of other racial and ethnic groups.
Martin hopes to conduct a more in-depth study but speculates some patients may feel God is encouraging them to continue treatment.
“If you see the physicians as tools of God, you might think … if God has put these individuals in my life to help me then I should avail myself of that opportunity,” she said.
Share with others: