Prostate cancer diagnosis may affect man’s mind
February 3rd, 2010 Posted in prostate cancer diagnosisAccording to a new study published online February 2 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, being diagnosed with prostate cancer may increase a man’s risk of suicide or cardiovascular death, especially right after diagnosis.
According to the study, the elevated suicide risk was apparent before prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing was common (1979) and when it was first introduced (1987), but not since PSA testing has been widespread (1993). The authors say this observation is most likely due to the potentially lower degree of stress associated with the diagnosis of indolent prostate cancer.