Deciding Treatment and Health-Related Quality of Life for Men with Localized Prostate Cancer

University of Washington: Health Promotion Research Center

Topics:
Cancer

Researchers are collecting information about men’s decision-making process for localized prostate cancer treatment and relating this decision to their subsequent quality of life and satisfaction with care. Approximately 400 patients with localized prostate cancer, their spouses, and their physicians will be recruited. The survey sites include large urology clinics at the University of Texas in San Antonio, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and Louisiana State University in New Orleans. Patients, spouses, and physicians will be surveyed before the treatment decision and at 6- and 12-months after treatment. Pretreatment surveys will focus on assessing quality of life, treatment preferences, and factors influencing those preferences. Post-treatment surveys of the patient and spouse will identify factors not anticipated or rejected at the time of decision-making that later influenced the patient’s and spouse’s reported quality of life. This study aims to help reduce regret of patients and spouses by gaining insight into the treatment decision-making process.

 

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