In the classic holiday film "It's a Wonderful Life", Clarence the angel says "remember, George, no man is a failure who has friends". In the holiday spirit, Your Doctor Friends took Clarence's words to heart, and present to you today the research behind how friendship keeps us healthy.

In today's episode, we highlight the growing amount of evidence that supports friendships as a key aspect of our health, and, conversely, how social and emotional isolation often leads to poor health outcomes.

The American Psychological Association summarizes, “given the clear benefits of friendship, psychologists say we should promote platonic social connection across society—including in school, at work, in public spaces (such as on public transportation), and through entertainment.”

So let's do that today, shall we? And after listening to the episode, maybe reach out to a friend with a quick text, a silly photo, or an invite to meet up for a treat together. It might just help you live longer ;)

And bonus dessert topic at the end, we talk about SOME GOOD NEWS in cancer treatment and survivorship!

Happy holidays from Your Doctor Friends! We hope you're safe, happy, and healthy :)

Resources for today's episode include:

An American Psychological Association article titled "The science of why friendships keep us healthy".

A Washington Post article titled "Friends can improve your health and well-being especially during the holidays".

A systematic review/meta-analysis in PLoS One from 2023 titled "Social isolation as a risk factor for all-cause mortality"

A Healio article titled "Cancer death rate drops by 33%, AACR report shows"

The AACR press release for the Cancer Progress Report.

The full AACR Cancer Progress Report 2023.

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