Psychosocial adjustment in newly diagnosed prostate cancer

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychological and social adjustment of men with early or advanced stage prostate cancer and to compare them with a matched group of cancer-free community volunteers. METHODS: A longitudinal observational study in which 367 men recently diagnosed with early (n=211) or advanced stage (n=156) prostate cancer were compared to 169 cancer-free men from the community, of similar age and residential area, using self-report measures of psychosocial adjustment. RESULTS: On the mental health subscales of the Short-Form 36-item Health Survey, men with advanced disease had lower vitality and social functioning than the other two groups, and lower mental health scores than the co..