Prostate cancer - online guide in the therapy jungle

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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There are often several treatment options for prostate cancer. An individually adapted online tutorial is now intended to help sufferers to find the best alternative for them.

Wait and watch? Anti-hormonal therapy? Or just to be on the safe side the big program with surgery and radiation? For prostate cancer there are often several treatment options - with different side effects.

Which therapy is ultimately chosen depends not only on the stage of the disease and the aggressiveness of the tumor, but also to a large extent on the patient himself. How great is his need for security? How is his overall health? Does he have a fulfilling love life that would be threatened by a major intervention?

All of these aspects must be carefully considered - and this is only possible if the patient is fully informed. In the doctor's office, the flood of information to be digested overwhelmed many.

Individually adapted online tutorial

Doctors of the German Society for Urology have now developed an online offer that is intended to provide essential support for decision-making. To do this, each patient receives an individual access code to the online tutorial so that only they can view their personal data.

“The special charm is that all the essential information is conveyed using short videos that the patient can watch with their partner or another confidante,” explains private lecturer Johannes Huber, project manager of the prostate cancer decision-making aid to This encourages conversation between those affected and their relatives about a difficult, fearful topic.

It was developed for men in whom the cancer has not yet spread. Which treatment options are possible in a specific case results from eight basic medical data that the patient receives beforehand from his doctor and that he first enters when starting the program. These include the clinical stage, the PSA value or the amount of tumor tissue found in a punch biopsy. This basic information is used to filter which variants of the information videos the person concerned receives.

Find out what's important

In addition, the patient fills out detailed questionnaires - also online - about any other illnesses, but also about his or her personal needs and attitudes. "For example, we not only record how his sexual functions are doing, but also how important it is for him to be able to have sexual intercourse - or how bad an incontinence would be," says urologist Huber.

Another central point that needs to be clarified: How important is it for the sick person that the treatment offers him a maximum life expectancy - for which, in return, however, more drastic therapeutic measures would usually be necessary. The package is supplemented by a psychoncological screening - "this way we can find out whether the patient is depressed or suffers from great anxiety," says Huber.

The procedure takes about two hours, then the program summarizes the most important results in printable form for the doctor. On this solid basis, a decision can be made during the next visit that takes all important aspects into account.

Personal opinion counts

“It is very important for patients to have the feeling that their opinion counts and is valued,” says Huber. This increases therapy satisfaction, fears are reduced and the oppressive feeling of being at the mercy of the disease disappears.

The advantage for the doctor is that he is dealing with a well-informed counterpart who supports the decision in favor of the therapy - and of course that he can use the available time optimally for joint decision-making. “The need for advice varies greatly from patient to patient,” says Huber. For resident doctors in particular, it is important to be relieved where it is only about pure information.

More than 1000 participants

The project is already a success: since it was launched in June 2016, more than 1000 patients have used the online decision-making tool. 88 percent of them were very satisfied with the offer. "66,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year," says Huber. The majority of them then have to make a choice that may be life-changing. This could now be made a little easier for all of you.

Interested patients can make their doctor aware of the free program. Further information: www.entscheidungshilfe-prostatakrebs.info.

Tags:  tcm hospital healthy workplace