Psychological distress in spouses of men treated for early-stage prostate carcinoma.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The authors examined levels and predictors of psychological distress in the wives of men treated for early-stage prostate carcinoma (PCa). METHODS: Patients with PCa (N = 165) and spouses were interviewed to assess general and cancer-specific distress. Social and intrapersonal factors of spouses as well as clinical characteristics and quality of life of patients were assessed as potential predictors of spouses' distress. RESULTS: Spouses reported more cancer-specific distress than did patients (P CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that overall distress in spouses of early-stage patients with PCa was modest, and it was more likely to be predicted by psychosocial than medical factors.</p