Decision-Making in Prostate Cancer – Choosing Active Surveillance Over Other Treatment Options: A Literature Review

A literature review was done using the Cognitive-Social Health Information Processing (C-SHIP) framework to identify how and why men diagnosed with prostate cancer choose active surveillance over other treatment options. Findings indicated men who choose active surveillance have a stronger preference for active or collaborative decision-making than those who choose other treatments. Men primarily choose active surveillance to avoid the side effects of incontinence and erectile dysfunction. This literature review informed the study by Bayliss, Duff, Strieker, and Walker (2016) and found physician recommendation to be the most influential factor when patients make a treatment decision.