prostate-report.org

Helping prostate cancer patients with localized disease reach treatment decisions

A recent sudy at Tom Baker Cancer Center, Psychosocial Resources, 2202 2nd St SW, Calgary, Canada, aimed to highlight two important aspects:

• role of psychosocial variables in treatment decision making for patients with localized prostate cancer, and
• how family physicians can be of most help to such patients in facilitating good treatment choices.

From the very beginning, researchers suggest that the optimal strategy for managing localized prostate cancer has not been established. Currently options for treatment include a number of potential ways: active surveillance, radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy, and cryoablation.

Study concluded family physicians can help minimize the decisional regret experienced by patients after treatment by encouraging patients to consider their values and social supports, as well as the accuracy and appropriateness of the information used in the decision-making process. However, an increased awareness of the psychosocial aspects of patient decision making, can teach family physicians for helping patients make better decisions.