Advanced prostate cancer patients' relationships with their spouses following hormonal therapy

The paper analyses the adverse impact of the hormonal therapy's side-effects on advanced prostate cancer patients' capacity for maintaining their pre-treatment spousal relationships, the pros and cons of their ways of coping with the difficulties involved, and the implications of these issues for oncology nursing interventions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 Israeli prostate cancer patients, and the data were processed according to the constant comparative analysis method. The findings show that partners' supportive attitude and patients' attempts to stage resilience led to pre-treatment relationships' maintenance, and that, accordingly, patients' rejection by their partners and resignation to this difficulty resulted in spousal ties' disruption. However, whereas the relationships' maintenance came at the cost of burdensome constant pretence, their disruption was eventually reconstructed by the patients in positive terms. These findings are analysed against the backdrop of the constraints imposed by the hormonal therapy on patients' general coping competence and ability to enjoy non-sexual activities, which impair their capability to solve their marital problems more effectively. They would thus benefit from training oncology nurses who specialize in the unique difficulties facing them and their partners, and from oncology nursing interventions that focus on relevant information provision and counselling.