Study: Stress Management Program Aids Prostate Cancer Survivors

A 10-week cognitive-behavioural stress management (CBSM) program appears to lead to significant overall improvement in the quality of life of men treated for prostate cancer, according to University of Miami researchers.

While current treatments for local prostate cancer are highly effective, many men suffer a deterioration in their quality of life due to such side effects of treatment as erectile dysfunction, and urinary or bowel incontinence.

In this study involving 92 men of diverse ethnic backgrounds over the age of 50 who had received either radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy in the previous 18 months, the men were either enrolled in a 10-week CBSM group intervention program or given a half-day seminar focused on helping them identify and manage stressful experiences.

Significant improvement in quality of life was reported after CBSM intervention, and men in this group reported a significant improvement in stress management skills.

There was no significant change in quality of life or perception of stress-management skill in the men enrolled in the half-day seminar program.

"Our CBSM intervention adequately addressed the quality of life needs and properly targeted stress management skills in an ethnically diverse sample of men treated for prostate carcinoma," the researchers reported in the journal Cancer.

Other Sources: Cancer