Being alone after cancer increases your risk of recurrence and death. This is the undeniable conclusion of a study that tracked more than 3,000 cancer survivors. Survivors were separated into categories of low/no loneliness, mild, moderate, and severe. The results were clear: “Elevated loneliness was associated with a higher mortality risk among cancer survivors,” said the study. The 2024 study and others like it served as a sort of wake-up call for health-care providers.