Abstract
Introduction: Men diagnosed with prostate cancer experience a range of psychosocial and physical difficulties, and in particular high levels of decision‐related distress. There is a need for a robust, theory based and targeted intervention to address men's needs at diagnosis and during the acute phase of rehabilitation.Methods: In previous research we found that cancer threat appraisal predicts decision‐related and psychological distress and further that threat appraisal also predicts the trajectory of adjustment over time. Specifically, as men's cancer threat appraisal becomes more negative, their adjustment trajectory worsens. This finding offers great hope for the malleability of outcomes and their potential for response to intervention. Accordingly, we integrated psycho‐education and decision support in a novel intervention for men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.Results: In a pilot study men newly diagnosed with localised prostate cancer reported clinically lower decision‐related distress (P = 0.001) after the intervention suggesting a moderate effect size. Further to this, to date 250 men have been recruited (86% participation) to a randomised control trial of the intervention. Patterns of care and baseline data for these men will also be presented.Conclusion: Psychosocial interventions for men with prostate cancer need to be finely tuned to the treatment experience and flexible to articulate effectively with men's varied individual decision making processes and clinician practices. The need for this approach will only increase as diagnostic methods further develop and treatment options continue to be the subject of debate.
Published Version
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