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Life Guide U.S. essentials
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In the week you are told a serious diagnosis, don't go alone to get the results, and put decisions other than treatment off until later

  • Top value
  • Evidence A
  • Buys life
  • Free
  • Takes minutes
  • No willpower

If you are thinking about suicide right now, call or text 988. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

In plain words

In the first week after a cancer diagnosis, the chance of suicide is 12.6 times that of people without the diagnosis, and the chance of dying of cardiovascular disease is 5.6 times. By the first year, the suicide risk falls to 3.1 times, and it is more pronounced for cancers that are harder to treat. So bring someone with you on the day you get the report, and don't be alone when you get home. Leave things like quitting your job or selling your home until your next clinic visit.

Cost

Free. Find someone to go with you to get the results. Put off big decisions other than treatment for a few days.

What you get

A Swedish national registry followed more than 6,070,000 (607万) people (6,073,240 people) from 1991 to 2006. Compared with people without a cancer diagnosis, the relative risk of suicide in the first week after diagnosis was 12.6 (95% CI 8.6–17.8), about 12.6 times. The true multiple likely lies between 8.6 and 17.8. The rate that week was 2.50 per 1000 person-years, that is, 2.5 cases when 1000 people are followed for a year. By the first year it fell to 3.1 (2.7–3.5, 0.60 per 1000 person-years), about 3.1 times. Cardiovascular death in the first week was 5.6 (5.2–5.9, 116.80 per 1000 person-years), about 5.6 times. In the first 4 weeks it was 3.3 (3.1–3.4, 65.81 per 1000 person-years). The elevated risk fell back quickly within the first year after diagnosis. The harder a cancer was to treat and the lower the chance of survival, the larger the rise. Comparing the same patients with themselves at different time periods gave the same conclusion.

Notes

This is data on cancer patients. For other major diagnoses, there is no source of equal weight. The number of people it actually happens to is small: the suicide rate in the first week was 2.50 per 1000 person-years, that is, 2.5 cases when 1000 people are followed for a year. It is written out not to frighten you but to show that in “the first few days after finding out,” someone should be beside you. For long-term management, reimbursement and follow-up after diagnosis, see §16 and §24. If you can't find anyone to go with you, see §29.6 (replace “that person” with a neighbor and a community list).

Evidence grade
A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.
Sources
  1. Fang F, et al. (2012). Suicide and cardiovascular death after a cancer diagnosis. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1110307

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 29, tip 2. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer