Most cancer patients not worried by delayed therapy
July 28th, 2009 Posted in prostate cancerA new Dutch research at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam shows that men who delay treatment for their early prostate cancer are not especially anxious about living with the disease.
According to Dr. Roderick van den Bergh and colleagues, the evidence seems to contradict the assumption that living with untreated prostate cancer is nerve-wracking for most patients. The findings are published in the Sept. 1 issue of Cancer.
The researchers surveyed 129 men regarding their levels of depression and anxiety over their treatment decision. The researchers noted men who were in poor general health and those with neurotic personalities expressed higher levels of anxiety and distress, suggesting that factors other than cancer may impact a patient’s emotional response.
The study is especially useful in an era when prostate-specific antigen tests and other screening exams are uncovering prostate cancer at increasingly earlier stages. Many physicians practice a “wait-and-see” approach to treatment, saving the more aggressive therapies for when the cancer grows or spreads, according to information in a news release from the American Cancer Society