Many studies have suggested a link between various types of stress and progression of melanoma but a new study suggest that an alternative explanation could be that bereaved people no longer have a close person to help notice skin changes. This delays detection of a possible melanoma and therefore diagnosis until the cancer has progressed to later stages when it is generally more aggressive and harder to treat. Many factors can influence melanoma survival. Our work suggests that melanoma may take longer to detect in bereaved people potentially because partners play an important role in spotting early signs of skin