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Prostate cancer screening: knowledge, experiences and attitudes of men aged 40-79 years
Bruce Arroll1, Salil Pandit, Stephen Buetow
1Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. b.arroll@auckland.ac.nz
Aim:
The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge, experiences and attitudes of men aged 40-79 years regarding screening for prostate cancer.
Methods:
This study was a cross-sectional telephone survey of men aged 40-79 years whose names were randomly selected from the Auckland telephone directory. The study was undertaken in the summers of 2000/2001 and 2001/2002.
Results:
The response rate was 77% (120/156). Of the men surveyed, 81% (91/113) stated that it was necessary to test for prostate cancer in men without concerns or symptoms. The majority were not aware of complications of treatment.
Conclusions:
Misconceptions surround prostate cancer screening. We recommend that doctors inform their patients that prostate cancer screening is controversial, and that the effectiveness of treatment for screen-detected prostate cancer is unknown. Individual patients would then be an improved position to decide about participation in screening.