When a husband or wife is diagnosed with a serious disease, it is inevitable that the couple's life together will change, usually in a big way. Take the stress and scare of a life-threatening disease, combine that with the financial costs of an illness, and throw in the loss of a lifestyle, and you often have a recipe for disaster. Certainly, many marriages are strengthened by an illness, coming together to rally against a disease and a prognosis. But, unfortunately, it can also contribute to divorce when one spouse finds him- or herself unable to handle the pressure.
According to new research, men are more likely to leave an ill wife than women are to leave an ill husband. In a controlled study, approximately 20 percent of ill women were divorced, in comparison to just three percent of ill men. The study also found that a control group had a 12 percent rate of divorce, leading to the conclusion that an ill wife makes a husband more likely to leave, while an ill husband actually makes a wife more likely to stay.
There are many possible reasons for the significant disparity between genders. First, men don't usually have the support system of friends, family, counselors and groups that is more common among women. Instead, men rely on their wives or girlfriends for emotional support, and they may not have anyone to turn to for help in dealing with her illness.
In addition, men are not generally familiar with the role of caregiver, despite their best intentions to adopt it. At the same time, patients no longer remain at the hospital and under the care of doctors and nurses for several weeks, as was previously the case. This means that spouses and others at home now shoulder a greater burden of care, which can be uncomfortable and stressful.
Because of these and other factors, researchers believe, men are more likely to ask for a divorce after realizing or deciding that they are unable to handle their spouse's illness.

Then I found this thread:
http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?t=118718

So... what have I learned... Chronic pain plagues a lot of us... work related, emotionally related... Yes, it can effect your relationships with loved ones....

What do I plan to do? Because I fear, since the results of my MRI and X-ray showed horrible things... that pain is in my future for the long run... that I am going to make the best of it.

How's that?

Will I suffer in silence? No. I won't. Your damn straight I am going to let people know when I am in pain, if I need to slow down... But I will not stop what I am doing. I will keep working, I will keep doing the things I love to do.
What if it hurts too bad? Then I'll take maintenance medication.. I will not use it unless I need it.

I am 27 years old, I am too young to feel bedridden. I am too young to be afraid to live....
So that's it.

Moving forward, praying for this new situation in my world to subside... To happen later rather than sooner.

I am glad it has been detected and I can prepare for it now.. before it's too late.

Tell me what you think?
Anyone reading out there have a pain syndrome?
If so, how do you deal with it?

Anyone think that I'm being a big baby about this?

Come on people I need OPINIONS HERE!

(Oh, to the blogs I follow: I am behind by a day on my reading... I will catch up sometime after lunch today!)