Psychological aspects of prostate cancer: a clinical review

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men. It is fraught with both physical and psychological symptomatology. Depression, anxiety, stress, fatigue, pain and psychosocial factors all affect the patient with prostate cancer. Impotence, erectile dysfunction, sexual issues and incontinence in these patients complicate matters further. Anxiety may exist both before testing and while awaiting test results. Confusion over choosing from various interventions often adds to anxiety and depression in these patients. Various demographic factors and the developmental stage of the couple affect these psychological symptoms. The caregiver may undergo significant psychological turmoil while caring for a patient diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is addressed. The role of nurses in the management of prostate cancer is discussed. The present review looks at psychological issues in patients with prostate cancer from a clinical perspective, with the aim of highlighting these issues for the clinical urologist dealing with these patients. It also explores the consultation-liaison relationship between psychiatrists, psychologists and urologists as a team for the multimodal management of prostate cancer.