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05 October 2009 How prostate cancer influences men's daily livesAccording to district nurse Annikki Jonsson, "We need a better understanding of how men with prostate cancer experience their illness and how they choose to adapt their new circumstances," She interviewed 37 men with prostate cancer for her thesis. "We can then support them better and tailor their treatment to the phase they are in." The results reveals that the men go through different phases of adjustment in succession after getting their diagnosis, and that their everyday lives are affected differently according to which phase they are in. Those with less serious prostate cancer find themselves in an emotional vacuum immediately after receiving their diagnosis. During this phase, which normally lasts around a week, it is pointless for medical personnel to try to give men information about their illness. Once these men have negotiated this initial phase, they regain control over their lives and find their driving force for life. They begin actively seek out information about their illness. Men who learn that they have an aggressive form of prostate cancer find that the disease is allways at present and they feel often a sense of emptiness during the initial period following the diagnosis. For these men, the disease is an existential threat. They think a lot about how the future will be and how they will die. "The men I interviewed said that they lived life more intense, but that they had their ups and downs," says Jonsson. "Sometimes they felt more alive, and in the next minute got a feeling that they risked losing control or being reminded of their changed masculinity." The men were interviewed again two years after receiving their diagnosis. They told that they had realised that life is fragile, and they were aware that they did not know how long the life will be. They got more faith and trust in life and had discovered that they could preserve their autonomy and integrity despite their illness. NOTE: Issues on this site regarding prostate cancer and treatment options, are provided for information only, and are not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional. Prostate-Report.org does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment. |
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