Date.com Poll: Single Men Would Stay in a New Relationship with a Woman Diagnosed with Breast Cancer

    MIAMI BEACH, FL, October 22, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- When Sex and the City's Samantha Jones was diagnosed with breast cancer, her boyfriend pledged to stay with her through treatment. Meanwhile, celebrities such as Sheryl Crow, Kylie Minogue, Edie Falco and Christina Applegate, battled the disease single. Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, leading online dating sites Date.com (http://www.date.com), Matchmaker.com (http://www.matchmaker.com), and Amor.com (http://www.amor.com), polled its members to see what they would do if they entered a new relationship and their significant other was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Surprisingly, majority of men and women polled have not had an immediate family member battle breast cancer. Yet, 80% of single men pledged to stay in a new relationship if their girlfriend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Single men felt that fighting the disease together could bring them closer as a couple. Meanwhile, 90% of women felt that a breast cancer diagnosis would lead to immediately getting dumped, as many new relationships couldn't survive the rigors of chemotherapy and treatment.

"According to these poll results, women don't have enough faith that the men they're dating would step up to the plate and stand by their side when it comes to being diagnosed with a life threatening disease such as breast cancer," said Shira Zwebner, Relationship Advisor for Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com. "My own Grandfather helped my Grandmother fight and beat Breast Cancer decades ago and, from these poll results, it's wonderful knowing that it wasn't just the bonds of matrimony obligating him to stick around."

In a new survey of thousands of male online daters nationwide, conducted in the month of September, we asked: Has anyone in your immediate family been diagnosed with breast cancer?

Following are the complete results:

No: 70%
Yes: 30%

We also asked: The girl you just started dating was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. What would you do?

Be her rock! If anything, getting through her sickness together could bring us closer as a couple: 80%

Try to stick by her side but be realistic that our relationship will probably change because of the treatments. If it gets too much for me, I would probably break up with her but would really try hard to make things work: 65%

Break up with her. It's too early in the relationship for me to deal with something so heavy. I just couldn't handle a girlfriend with breast cancer, let alone the thought that she could lose a breast: 22%

In a new survey of thousands of female online daters nationwide, we asked: Has anyone in your immediate family been diagnosed with breast cancer?

Following are the complete results:

No: 60%
Yes: 40%

We also asked: Do you think most men would break up with a new girlfriend if she were diagnosed with breast cancer?

Absolutely. It's too new of a relationship for most men to handle something as difficult as a breast cancer diagnosis: 90%

No. I think many men would feel an obligation to stand by their woman who is ill and it's a good test of a relationship to see if they can make it through cancer treatment: 10%

About Avalanche, LLC
Avalanche operates several leading online dating websites, including Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com. Date.com launched on Valentine's Day 1997 and has become one of the world's most popular dating websites. First started as a Bulletin Board System in 1986, Matchmaker.com is the oldest online dating site. It was acquired by Avalanche in 2006 and targets those singles seeking serious relationships. Amor.com, launched in 2007, is a rapidly growing destination for Hispanic singles. Avalanche hosts more than 10 million members worldwide, with the sites adding over 100,000 members each month. Additional information is available at http://www.date.com

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