A study was conducted on non-small cell lung cancer patients over age 60 that had already had the primary tumor(s) surgically removed. The prognosis for this type of cancer is grim. The doctors compared vitamin users to nonusers and measured blood folate as an indicator of folic acid intake. The median survival for the nonusers was only 11 months compared to an astounding 41 months for the vitamin users. Supplement users, in other words, survived almost four times longer than nonusers. In those patients with higher blood levels of folate, there was a 68% improvement in survival. Because the doctors adjusted for other mortality factors, the findings of this study suggest that cancer patients should take vitamin supplements (Jatoi et al. 1998).