ADJUSTMENT TO PROSTATE CANCER

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Psychoeducational support groups (PSGs), which appear to be effective in enhancing quality of life in other cancer populations, may also be beneficial to men with prostate cancer. The proposed study aims to: (1) compare the relative effects of two PSGs on quality of life outcomes in men with prostate cancer (education versus education + peer discussion versus control group); (2) test whether PSGs enhance quality of life through two proposed mediators--enhanced cognitive processing and increases in perceived personal control (self-efficacy); and (3) determine whether education + peer discussion enhances quality of life above and beyond education alone by further enhancing cognitive processing, or whether particular people (i.e., those with unmet support needs) are more likely to benefit than others from the addition of peer discussion to education. To date, there have been no solid studies on the effects of psychoeducational support groups on the quality of life of men with prostate cancer. The study team's preliminary data suggest that prostate cancer patients mainly want education about the disease and how to manage the negative side-effects of treatment. In the proposed study, 252 men treated for prostate cancer will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: education, education plus discussion, or control group (measurement only). The investigators will convene seven groups of 12 men for each of the three conditions. intervention groups will meet once a week for six consecutive weeks. Quality of life and mediator variables (e.g., perceived control, cognitive processing) will be measured once before the interventions and again 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after the interventions. Preliminary data from a survey of men with prostate cancer (n=181) and a randomized group intervention (education + discussion versus control; n=24) were used to determine the content of the interventions, to test the conceptual model, and to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of running such groups for men with prostate cancer.