The article linked below describes a study that was done at Sloan Kettering on how men and women differ in their decision-making processes, as to which treatment to get for the cancers they have.
The conclusion of this study:
"When it comes to making treatment decisions, approaches used by newly diagnosed breast and prostate cancer patients break down along stereotypical gender lines, according to the study commissioned by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York."Which then goes on to say:
"Men were more deliberative, analytical, and data-driven in their approach, while women were more emotional when making their decisions."
"Treato, a health care data analytics company hired by Sloan Kettering, conducted the study."
" ... these two types of cancer were chosen because they are among the most common cancer types, generally break down along gender lines and involve people of different age groups following different decision paradigms."
"The research team found that prostate cancer patients rely on the latest studies about treatment options, as well as experts’ advice from books recommended online. They are more likely to weigh the cost-benefit ratio of treatments and take the time to consider the pros and cons of each of their choices. Even when discussing emotions, male patients communicate in matter-of-fact language, talking about their feelings in terms of quality-of-life and length-of-life concerns."
"Women, on the other hand, tend to have a more emotional reaction to their diagnosis. Their desire to avoid “going through this whole thing again” takes center stage, often resulting in their choice of the most aggressive therapy— bilateral mastectomy. They appear to be more distrustful of their physicians and instead seek guidance from their online peers, who have gone through a similar experience. Women often discuss fear of recurrence and are influenced by stories of other women whose cancer recurred after not pursuing aggressive therapy."
(This would seem to confirm something I had from time to time noticed in media-covered cases of BCa treatment of some female celebrities, who were reported as wanting radical mastectomy early on, perhaps even directly following Dx, in a highly determined effort to just "get it out").
" ... only about 10 percent of the men ... (an SK doctor) ... encounters respond quickly and emotionally. “They want to hurry up and get the cancer out,” ... "After completing treatment, they come online to figure out how to deal with its side effects.”
"John P. Mulhall, a urologist who directs the sexual and reproductive medicine team at Sloan Kettering, says that in his experience, the men who tend to use online forums “are either happy with their outcomes and want to help others or so miserable that they’re starving for information from anywhere.” Mulhall feels that those patients in the middle range, who are reasonably happy with their care and outcomes, tend to visit those sites less frequently."
"The study, too, found that women saw reconstruction as “their hopeful endpoint, when the cancer is permanently left behind.”Especially interesting:
"In fact, online groups vary considerably, an issue that was not addressed by this study. For example, breastcancer.org, one of the largest online communities and the source of many of the posts analyzed by Treato, does not require participants to have an online account to view the discussion board. But if a participant wishes to initiate a thread, respond to comments or send a private message to another member, that online account is required. Unlike CancerCare, members do not have to be accepted into the group. It is unclear whether such variations make a difference in group dynamics. Nonetheless ... the findings indicate that these online communities are extraordinarily powerful and can be very helpful. (Boldface mine) Yet participants also must view these posts with some caution. “Each group has its own personality and identity,” Meehan says. “It’s important for participants to understand that these communities are not the final word. They must assess whether what they’re seeing online is right for their circumstances.”However,
“There is more variability among individuals within each group than between men and women.”And
" ... Steven J. Katz (medical researcher) sees a downside to this study. In his view, it could lead to prejudgments on the part of doctors about how to approach their patients, which could be “kind of dangerous. We wouldn’t want doctors to prejudge patients on the basis of gender, race or anything else.”This SK study would seem to confirm what observation has already shown to be true, that when diagnosed, women are often determined to move very quickly to an advanced and ultimate form of treatment, such as mastectomy, in order to "get the problem behind them as quickly as possible."
OTOH, as a male I do remember in my own case that, following Dx, even while my mind was still racing from the shock of Dx, I was already mentally running through treatment options logically and methodically, I'm pretty sure it was, almost spreadsheet style. I guess a strong impulse to "get it all behind me" was there as well, but it was secondary to coming up with a logical, well thought out treatment plan.
Perhaps a value of studies such as this one is the input they may provide to physicians, in undestanding the reaction by gender that people may possibly have when given a cancer Dx, and then advise them, but taking these gender-relevant influences into account.
In the closing words of the article:
“Overall, the study provides a snapshot of the newly diagnosed and the mindset of patients making choices ... The information about what men and women feel and find important will only serve to help us care for them more effectively.” https://www.curetoday.com/view/men-and-women-use-different-strategies-to-choose-cancer-treatments