Prostate Cancer Gives A New Outlook On Life – Findings from a Thesis Written by A District Nurse, Annikki Jonsson

As with many other cancers, prostate cancer, when first diagnosed, may not physically effect a man. Men often report feeling healthy and not aware they have anything wrong.  However, hearing the diagnosis  gives them a whole new outlook on life according to a dissertation thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

After the initial shock of the diagnosis, once they have learned to live with the reality that they have cancer, men choose to focus on valuable relationships and appreciate the little things in life.

“We need a better understanding of how men with prostate cancer experience their illness and how they choose to adapt their new circumstances,” says district nurse Annikki Jonsson, who interviewed 37 men with prostate cancer for her thesis.  “We can then support them better and tailor their treatment to the phase they are in.”

According to Jonsson, men go through different phases of adjustment in succession after hearing the diagnosis, and that their everyday lives are affected differently according to which phase they are in.

Those men who are told they have less serious prostate cancer initially find themselves in an emotional vacuum immediately after receiving the news.  During this phase, which normally lasts around a week, they are unable to hear any information about their disease, so it is pointless for medical personnel to try to give men information about their illness.  “But they do appreciate positive reception without pity during this initial phase.  And, of course, if they do choose to get in touch and ask some questions, it’s important to answer and tell where you can turn to with different thoughts,” said Jonsson.

Once these men have negotiated this initial phase, they regain control over their lives.  At this juncture they begin actively to seek out information about their illness and its treatments.

However, the men who learn that they have an aggressive or advanced prostate cancer find that the disease is always present in their thoughts.  Many report they feel a sense of emptiness during the initial period following the diagnosis.  For these men, the disease poses an existential threat to them. They tend to think a lot about their future and how they will die.

According to Jonsson, “The men I interviewed said that they lived life more intensely, but that they had their ups and downs. Sometimes they felt more alive, and in the next minute got a feeling that they risked losing control.”

The men were interviewed again two years after receiving their diagnosis.  They told her that they realized that life is fragile, and they were aware that they did not know how long the life will be.  However, many reported more faith and trust in life as well as discovering that they could preserve their autonomy and integrity despite their illness.

“Life changes, and it’s important to achieve some kind of balance,” says Jonsson.  “The men focused their energy on the relationships which were valuable for them.  They appreciated the little things in life in a different way nowadays and developed an inner strength to be true to themselves.”

Joel T Nowak MA, MSW

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