Mayo Clinic recruiting men with prostate cancer for a quality of life study

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 25, 2005 — Mayo Clinic is conducting a research study to improve the quality of life of men who have prostate cancer with rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels.

Although survival rates for men with localized prostate cancer are high, past research has shown that many prostate cancer survivors experience clinically significant increases in stress and decreases in their quality of life.

Steven Ames, Ph.D., is the principal investigator for the three-year, $225,000 research study funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The goal of the study is to evaluate the needs of this group of men and to develop a behavioral stress management intervention designed to reduce their psychological stress and improve their quality of life.

"The focus of the medical community has been on managing physical disease," Ames says. "Treating and eradicating the cancer is absolutely important, but there are downstream consequences of the disease and treating it that get overlooked. For example, what if you became incontinent? You go to see your oncologist for your checkup. He spends five to 10 minutes with you and says, 'Well you don't have cancer anymore. I know you're incontinent. Try this pill, and I'll follow up with you at your next appointment.' You might be expecting more out of that visit, but the oncologist's job is done. You're cured, but you're not very happy with how the cure has left you, and you're not given any opportunity to discuss it with anybody or learn how to live with it."

In the first phase of the research study, Ames and his colleagues will identify issues that cause stress and affect prostate cancer patients' quality of life. Then they will develop a stress management intervention program, which will be evaluated for its effectiveness in the study's second phase.

Men interested in participating in this research study must be free from cancer in other areas of their body and be willing to participate in a two-hour group discussion. Those who would like to volunteer or receive further information about the study may call the Clinical Studies Unit at Mayo Clinic at (904) 953-2941.

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Mayo Clinic is a multispecialty medical clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. The staff includes 313 physicians working in more than 40 specialties to provide diagnosis, treatment and surgery. Patients who need hospitalization are admitted to nearby St. Luke's Hospital, a 289-bed Mayo facility. Mayo Clinics also are located in Rochester, Minn., and Arizona. Visit www.MayoClinic.org/news for all the news from Mayo Clinic.

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