Social support may benefit men’s health after prostate cancer diagnosis
September 25, 2024 – Many men with prostate cancer avoid disclosing their diagnosis—perhaps because they fear being stigmatized or feeling like a burden, or because they’re having difficulty processing the news, according to a September 19 Time article. But experts quoted in the article said that while avoiding disclosure may feel better in the short term, over time patients may miss out on social support that can improve their health and wellbeing.
Lorelei Mucci, professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, suggested that clinicians check in with patients with prostate cancer who always come to appointments alone to see if they have adequate support or need help connecting with resources. Mucci, who is director of strategic research partnerships at the American Cancer Society and the director of the Cancer Epidemiology Prevention Program at Harvard Chan School, has spent her career researching causes and prevention of prostate cancer, and what patients can do to improve their lives after diagnosis.
She said that there’s no need for patients to tell everyone they know that they are in treatment, but it can make a difference in how well they are able to get through the experience if they feel like they have someone in their corner. Other experts quoted in the article noted that choosing what to share about one’s cancer diagnosis and with whom is a very personal choice, and no one should be pushed into disclosing more than they are ready to.
Mucci said that some prostate cancer patients may find a support group helpful. “Maybe they still aren’t ready to disclose more broadly, but at least they feel they have people going through an experience like them,” she said.
Read the Time article: Why Some Men Keep Their Prostate Cancer a Secret
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Reducing the burden of prostate cancer (interview with Lorelei Mucci, Harvard Chan School news)
Photo: iStock / FG Trade
