Men's experiences of radiotherapy treatment for localized prostate cancer and its long-term treatment side effects: a longitudinal qualitative study

Sutton, E., Lane, J. A., Davis, M., Walsh, E. I., Neal, D. E., Hamdy, F. C., Mason, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1505-2869, Staffurth, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7834-3172, Martin, R. M., Metcalfe, C., Peters, T. J., Donovan, J. L., Wade, J. and The ProtecT Study Group 2021. Men's experiences of radiotherapy treatment for localized prostate cancer and its long-term treatment side effects: a longitudinal qualitative study. Cancer Causes and Control 32 (3) , 261–269. 10.1007/s10552-020-01380-3

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Abstract

Purpose To investigate men’s experiences of receiving external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with neoadjuvant Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) for localized prostate cancer (LPCa) in the ProtecT trial. Methods A longitudinal qualitative interview study was embedded in the ProtecT RCT. Sixteen men with clinically LPCa who underwent EBRT in ProtecT were purposively sampled to include a range of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. They participated in serial in-depth qualitative interviews for up to 8 years post-treatment, exploring experiences of treatment and its side effects over time. Results Men experienced bowel, sexual, and urinary side effects, mostly in the short term but some persisted and were bothersome. Most men downplayed the impacts, voicing expectations of age-related decline, and normalizing these changes. There was some reticence to seek help, with men prioritizing their relationships and overall health and well-being over returning to pretreatment levels of function. Some unmet needs with regard to information about treatment schedules and side effects were reported, particularly among men with continuing functional symptoms. Conclusions These findings reinforce the importance of providing universal clear, concise, and timely information and supportive resources in the short term, and more targeted and detailed information and care in the longer term to maintain and improve treatment experiences for men undergoing EBRT.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Additional Information:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	0957-5243
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 March 2021
Date of Acceptance:	4 December 2020
Last Modified:	11 Oct 2023 17:36
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/139331

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