New recommendations for post-treatment care of prostate cancer survivors

Many of the more than 2.5 million men in the U.S. who have received treatment for prostate cancer deal with the often disabling side effects of surgery and radiation and hormonal therapies. To aid in the transition of these patients from specialty to primary care for long-term management of problems such as urinary incontinence and sexual and bowel dysfunction, updated guidelines for prostate cancer survivorship care are published in Journal of Men's Health.

Ted Skolarus, MD, MPH led a team of authors from University of Michigan, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (Ann Arbor), and Michigan State University (East Lansing) in preparing the article "Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care: An Update to the 2009 Michigan Cancer Consortium Guidelines for the Primary Care Management of Prostate Cancer Post-Treatment Sequelae." Based on information gathered from an expert panel and focus groups, additions to the updated guidelines include patient-reported symptoms assessment, self-management strategies for treatment-related side effects, recommendations for involving partners in survivorship care, and new care coordination strategies.

More information:
The article is available free on the Journal of Men's Health website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jomh.2014.0026 until September 4, 2014.

Provided by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc