"Positive experience of care for PC patients"

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca says that a recent survey found that men treated for prostate cancer feel more optimistic about their condition over time, reflecting their positive experience of treatment and the high level of trust they have in their specialist physician. In general, the majority of patients who took part in the AstraZeneca-sponsored survey trusted their specialist physician more than other health professionals, their family and those in other professions such as teachers or politicians. AstraZenca noted that the most commonly-used therapy in the men surveyed was its own hormonal treatment Zoladex (goserelin).

Over one third of the men surveyed said that they trusted their specialist physician "completely" and more than half said this trust had increased from when they were first diagnosed. This high level of confidence was also reflected in treatment recommendations, although one in five men surveyed felt that they would like to be more involved in treatment decisions and nearly one in three felt they were not aware of all the available therapy options. Furthermore, the study results revealed that patients' desire for information about the disease and treatment options increased post diagnosis. In addition to their specialist physician, half of the men surveyed wanted to speak to another patient with prostate cancer who had received the same treatments as them. Interestingly, while the Internet was not the most popular or trusted source of information for these patients as a whole, it was among those who participated in the survey based in the USA.