iStock/ThinkstockDR. JENNIFER ASHTON, ABC News Senior Medical Contributor

They say you can get through just about anything as long as you’ve a few good friends by your side. Well, a recent study published in the journal, Cancer Looked at women with invasive breast cancer and found that socially integrated women — those with strong families, community ties and friendships — were shown to have significantly lower breast cancer death rate and disease recurrence than socially isolated women.

So here’s my take on personal relationships and your health: circle up. Don’t wait for a crisis to find your support system. Find and cultivate yours when things are good. That way you’ll have it ready in times of need.

Acknowledge your friends and loved ones and how important they are to you and reach out to those who may seem isolated. Helping someone else is therapeutic for everybody.

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