Perceived Stress and Quality of Life among Prostate Cancer Survivors

A convenience sample of 136 prostate cancer survivors participated in this close attention that assessed their perception of stres and quality of life (QOL) Data were assembleed via an anonymous questionnaire consisting of the Perceived Stres Scale, the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index Short Form, and demographic variables. The findings revealed depressed levels of stress with marginal reports of QOL Significant differences were place in organ-specific functioning (p

Introduction

Prostate cancer remains the greatest in quantity frequently diagnosed cancer and the next to the first leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American men1-3 The American Cancer Society estimated that approximately 232900 of recent origin cases would be diagnosed in 2005 and that 30350 men would die from it.4 Wide variations in the incidence and survival rates have been reported among men from different ethnic and racial collections with African-American men having the highest incidence and mortality rates in the world.2,3,5-6 In contrast, Asian/Pacific Islanders have the lowest reported incidence and mortality rates of all ethnic and racial assemblages Besides race, epidemiological studies have shown a greater risk among men with a family history of the disease, suggesting that genetic susceptibility may contribute to its development7-9 Although there is evidence of prostate cancer occurring before age 40 the disease is more prevalent in men as they swell older, with approximately 75% of all cases diagnosed in men who are age 65 and older10

Treatment options for prostate cancer are based upon the stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis. For patients with early-stage cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate, traditional options may include radical prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate), radiation therapy (treatment of the tumor site with either external beam or interstitial radiation), or watchful waiting (no immediate treatment on the other hand the patient is periodically evaluated for changes). A controll freezing of the prostate called "cryosurgery" is now being presented as an alternative to those traditional processs This procedure is thought to be les invasive than traditional surgery and may be associated with fewer complications. When the cancer has spread beyond the prostate, the patient may receive radiation and hormonal therapies. Medical consequences and quality of life after treatment are influenced through the patient's age, the neighborhood of other medical conditions and the aggressiveness of the tumor.8,11,12 on the contrary unlike many diseases, prostate cancer frequently involves a spouse/significant other in a true intimate way. Treatment side consequences such as erectile dysfunction, bowel riddles and/or urinary incontinence can affect a man's faculty of perception of self-worth and body image, creating feelings of embarrassment and affecting the one and the other his physical and emotional relationships with his spouse.13 Shared clinical decision-making is also challenging. Researchers have reported that many male patients have difficulty communicating with their health care providers and do not believe questions are adequately addressed after a cancer diagnosis is made.14 Processing a large turn of information is also distressing, further complicating the patient's ability to actively participate in treatment decisions. This knowledge deficit about treatment modalities and potential side events is later perceived by patients and their spouses as harshly affecting quality of life (QOL) and healthy postoperative rehabilitation.15

Review of the Literature

Researchers put in mind of that organ-specific problems experienced through prostate cancer survivors may be directly related to their course of treatment and the vicinity of symptoms may significantly impact QOL Yarbro and Ferrans14 rest that patients whose prostate cancer was treated by dint of surgery had significantly worse urinary and sexual function, and better bowel function, than patients treated with radiation therapy. Ninety-eight percent of the sample who had undergone surgery reported their ability to have an erection as "poor or true poor." The problem of "urinary leakage" l to the use of protective pads in 32% of the surgery patients. on the other hand despite significant differences in organ-targeted functions, the researchers reported no significant differences in QOL between the collections Steineck et al.16 reported similar findings. Litwin et al.17 reported significant differences in QOL (sexual, urinary, and bladder functions), with men who underwent radical surgery or radiation reporting poorer sexual functioning (decreased oftenness and quality of erections, decreased morning erections, decreased intercourse, and decreased ability to achieve sexual climax). Clark et al.18 ground that urinary, bowel, or sexual symptoms were reported by the agency of 63% of their sample at 12 month with slightly more than half of these patients indicating they had experienced either no erection or erections that were inadequate in the previous 4 weeks. Patients who reported urinary, bowel, or sexual symptoms 12 month after being diagnosed had consistently lower QOL scores than patients who reported none of these symptoms.