The cancer diagnosis is a stressful event in the life of any person who collaborates to diverse difficulties like anxiety, depression, fear (to the repetition of the illness, to the future...), as well as to the physical problems that the side effects of the treatment suppose.

In case of the prostate cancer there is a high probability of which the effects of the treatment reverberate of important form in the quality of life of the patient. We refer topcoat to the possibilities of suffering urinal incontinence and/or erectile malfunction, but also to others, like the loss of the libido, gastrointestinal effects, alterations of the humor....

The psychological aftereffects due to the cancer of prostate add two aspects: those related to the cancer in general, and the proper ones of the location of the illness and the treatment:

- As for the psychological aftereffects of the cancer, these they are due to the fact that the population usually attributes to him a meaning of death, stigma and for the suspense, still present nowadays, on his causes and possibilities of healing. The most frequent disorders in the frame of mind are an anxiety and depression. Also there can be periods of insomnia, anorexia and interruption of the daily activities, in addition to persistent fear for the possibility of relapsing.

- The prostate cancer supposes, for the effects of his treatment, a threat for the patient, due to the damage perception to his self-portrait and to his masculinity. This can affect seriously to the couple relations, and to the proper self-esteem of the affected one. The possible problematic ones as the incontinence and the sexual powerlessness, damage the conception of the patient like man, fill him with shame and with discomfort. If active laboralmente is still, he can feel functional difficulties in his work, for example, having to urinate more often, with everything what it implies, with the added fear to that the coworkers realize. If it does not work already, he can suffer an emotional alteration after there joins the retirement (with everything what it involves in our society), to these losses at physical level, which will make him value less himself.

On the other hand, we must add that in the prostate cancer two very important aspects become clear, that they have to do with medical aspects, but that they suppose an increase in the anxiety of the patient:

- The decision between different treatment alternatives: the possibility that there are more than one possible therapeutics, with different side effects has a double aftereffect in the well-being of the patient. On one hand, he adds anxiety before the doubt if it has been chosen well. On the other hand, if the patient, is well informed, with equanimity and objectivity, on the part of the doctor, it helps him to increase the sensation of control, thing that is very important, a topcoat in the masculine sex. In some cases, in which one has not reported or not it has been done in an appropriate way, the patients see increasing his anxiety level. It is very important that the patient has the sensation that a high communication grade exists between he and the doctor.

- The knowledge with regard to the tumor scoreboards: increasingly, the patients with cancer receive information with regard to numbers, and control when the numbers indicate that there is something that does not go well. The patient with prostate cancer is usually informed about his PSA and, when he waits for the results or before minimal increases, can turn distressed. This is named the "anxiety of the PSA", and can go so far as to constitute an authentic psychological problem. There are patients who do graphs of his PSA and others that go to different analysts to corroborate results. In English they name to indicate the source of anxiety that can go so far as to generate this analysis name him Patient Stress and Anxiety (Anxiety and stress of the patient) or the analysis that promotes anxiety and stress (Promote Stress and Anxiety). Recently a specific questionnaire has been generated to evaluate the anxiety due to the PSA.


The prostate cancer can suppose an important challenge in the life of the affected one. It marks many aspects of his life, so much personnels, like works and social. For it it can be important to receive psychological, individual support or of couple, when the habitual resources in the life of the patient, are not sufficient. A way of trying to prevent from increasing in high grade the discomfort and anxiety of the patient, is to obtain the maximum level of information about the illness, the treatment and his side effects. A good communication with the doctor is one of the keys to obtain the calmness and sensation of control of the patient.