Prostate cancer affects African Americans at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the United States. Prostate cancer does not only affect the man with the disease but also affects those individuals who are closest to him, such as his family and friends. Open communication is valuable in coping with stressors that are affiliated with chronic illnesses. This article focuses on family and friend social support of men with prostate cancer. Data analysis revealed that support from family members and friends plays an important role in how men cope with their treatment and recovery from prostate cancer. KeywordsAfrican American men; family support; prostate cancer; survivorship Prostate Cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States, following lung cancer. The American Cancer Society 1 estimated that in 2007, there would be approximately 219,000 newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer and nearly 28,000 men would die from prostate cancer.Prostate cancer disproportionately affects African American (AA) men. They have the highest incidence of prostate cancer, at 255.5 cases per 100,000 in comparison with 161.4 cases per 100,000 Caucasian men and 140.8 cases per 100,000 Hispanic men. 2 The incidence rate peaked in AA men in 1993 and has been declining, but the reasons for the higher incidence rate among AA men in comparison with Caucasian and Hispanic males is unclear. Prostate cancer affects not only the man with the disease but also his entire family. Family relationships play an important part in how men with prostate cancer cope with the disease and decide on treatment issues. Mellon and Northouse 4 found a 63% decline in overall family quality of life after a family member had been given a cancer diagnosis. Cancer diagnosis and treatment-related issues such as fatigue, pain, hopelessness, financial concerns, and grief affect the family unit. Several studies 5,6 have reported correlations between the psychosocial adjustment of patients with cancer and that of their spouse or close family member. Boehmer and Clark 7 found among married men with metastatic prostate cancer that although the wives of these men were very concerned about their husbands' disease, there was little communication about the cancer, treatment options, and the emotions associated with having a diagnosis of cancer. This lack of communication may weaken coping mechanisms and decrease the resources available to men. Enhanced support, communication, and guidance from family and friends about difficult issues, such as sexual activity and fatigue, may play an important part in the lives of AA men with prostate cancer.Family support and function have been found to be critical in how the patient and his family members are affected by chronic disease. Kiley et al 8 found that among individuals who had kidney transplants, those individuals who had reduced family support had a higher risk for nonadherence to therapy, which might lead to a poorer prognosis tha...
Purpose/Objectives-To examine the cultural beliefs and attitudes of African American prostate cancer survivors regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities.Research Approach-Mixed methods with primary emphasis on a phenomenology approach. Setting-In-person interviews in participants' homes and rural community facilities.Participants-14 African American men diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer.Methodologic Approach-Personal interviews using a semistructured interview guide.Main Research Variables-Prostate cancer, CAM, African American men's health, culture, herbs, prayer, spirituality, and trust.Findings-All participants used prayer often; two men used meditation and herbal preparations. All men reported holding certain beliefs about different categories of CAM. Several men were skeptical of CAM modalities other than prayer. Four themes were revealed: importance of spiritual needs as a CAM modality to health, the value of education in relation to CAM,
BACKGROUND Alternative medicine therapies are estimated to be used by 7–64% of cancer patients but up to 72% do not inform their physician. To the authors' knowledge little useful information is available regarding the prevalence of alternative medicine use by patients with prostate carcinoma. Thus, the authors attempted to evaluate the prevalence of alternative medicine use by prostate carcinoma patients treated with curative intent by either radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy alone, or a combination of brachytherapy and external radiation therapy. METHODS Between January 1997 and May 1998, 234 men with clinically localized prostate carcinoma underwent radical prostatectomy (54 patients) or brachytherapy (180 patients) with (74 patients) or without (106 patients) external beam radiation therapy. In July 1998 a questionnaire was mailed to all patients comprised of multiple questions regarding alternative medicine use to which 190 patients (81%) responded. The overall prevalence and types of alternative medicine therapies used were assessed and the relation between age at procedure, pretreatment prostate specific antigen level, clinical stage, pretreatment Gleason score, and type of treatment with the use of alternative medicine therapies was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS The prevalence of alternative medicine use by prostate carcinoma patients responding to the survey was 43% (81 of 190 patients). No significant differences in alternative medicine use were observed between the patients who received brachytherapy alone (38%), those who underwent radical prostatectomy (40%), and those treated with combined brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy (51%). Vitamins, prayer or other religious practices, and herbal medicines were the most commonly used therapies in these patients. Higher pretreatment Gleason scores were associated with a greater use of alternative medicine therapies on both multivariate and univariate analyses. Finally, using multivariate analysis, younger prostate carcinoma patients were more likely to use alternative medicine therapies than older patients. CONCLUSIONS Alternative medicine use is very prevalent among patients treated for localized prostate carcinoma. Because some of these treatments may have a potential biologic impact on tumor behavior and, consequently, on definitive or surrogate therapeutic endpoints, patients should be questioned carefully regarding alternative medicine use during routine tumor follow‐up. Cancer 1999;86:2642–8. © 1999 American Cancer Society.
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