Decision-making Processes among Prostate Cancer Survivors with Rising PSA Levels: Results from a Qualitative Analysis.

Background: Prostate cancer survivors with a rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level have few treatment options, experience a heightened state of uncertainty about their disease trajectory that might include the possibility of cancer metastasis and death, and often experience elevated levels of distress as they have to deal with a disease they thought they had conquered. Guided by self-regulation theory, the present study examined the cognitive and affective processes involved in shared decision making between physicians and patients who experience a rising PSA after definitive treatment for prostate cancer.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 34 prostate cancer survivors who had been diagnosed with a rising PSA (i.

Muscle invasive bladder cancer: examining survivor burden and unmet needs.

Purpose: Although improvements in perioperative care have decreased surgical morbidity after radical cystectomy for muscle invasive bladder cancer, treatment side effects still have a negative impact on patient quality of life. We examined unmet patient needs along the illness trajectory.

Materials And Methods: A total of 30 patients (26.