The Effects of Social Support on Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Patients with metastatic prostate cancer (PC) live longer than patients with metastatic tumours of other sites. Consequently, their social network can influence their quality of life (QoL) during a remarkable life span. The aim of this article is to present the findings of a systematic review of the studies that focused on social network supporting the quality of life of these patients. A systematic review for studies meeting specific criteria was undertaken on three databases. Some level of unmet psychological needs was present in 54 % of the patients. Depression and fatigue are highly prevalent, and the dyads, patient and partner, are at higher risk for distress symptoms. The efforts of individuals to cope with metastatic PC appear influenced by adaptative skills and specific types of family support. Psychological and relational problems predominate in the hormone-sensitive stage and are increasingly replaced by physical symptoms, social and spiritual needs in the later stages. In the early castration-resistant stage, patients will discuss with their doctors information about drugs, control of side effects and treatment strategies. In metastatic PC patients, needs change during the course of the disease. Social support plays a major role in maintaining or disrupting QoL and in the efficacy of psychosocial treatments. The trajectory of disease and its effect on the reduced QoL over the entire life expectancy should be kept in mind by health system providers and social workers.

Social Support and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Gay and Bisexual Men With Prostate Cancer

“…These results are consistent with extensive literature on social relationships and health (Berkman & Glass, 2000;Umberson, Crosnoe, & Reczek, 2010), particularly that socially isolated individuals have worse health than those with more social integration and support. For prostate cancer specifically, others have found that lower social support is associated with higher risk of mortality (Jan et al, 2016) and worse QOL (Colloca & Colloca, 2016). The current findings regarding the relatively high prevalence of support received from chosen family and friends versus biologic family is consistent with other work on support and caregiving for gender and sexual minorities (Gabrielson, Holston, & Dyck, 2014), including lesbians with cancer and older adults who identify as a sexual minority.…”

African American prostate cancer survivorship: Exploring the role of social support in quality of life after radical prostatectomy

“…Social support has been widely researched for its implications on increasing quality of life, revealing a correlation between strong social support and improved physical and emotional functioning for cancer survivors (Eton et al, 2001; Kunkel et al, 2000; Campbell et al, 2004; DiIorio et al, 2011; Zhou et al, 2010; Colloca & Colloca, 2015). All of the participants mentioned some form of social support involvement during their cancer survivorship journey, primarily through either unstructured systems, which included romantic partners (i.e.…”

“…less anxiety, less depressive symptoms, and a buffer against stress), improved physical functioning (e.g. better symptom control and less pain), decreased mortality, and improved quality of life (Eton et al, 2001; Kunkel et al, 2000; Campbell et al, 2004; Zhou et al, 2010; Colloca & Colloca, 2015; Lafaye et al, 2014). …”

“…Conversely, there are some quality-of-life studies following prostate cancer diagnosis that have found that AA men reported lower levels of depression and anxiety (Rodrigue, 1997) and better self-reported emotional well-being than Caucasian men (Halbert et al, 2010). These studies, however, may be limited by self-report bias, and there has been research suggesting that prostate cancer patients overall are less likely than other cancer patients to report their feelings of depression and anxiety (Salvo et al, 2012; Colloca & Colloca, 2015). …”

Promoting Patient-Centered Care in Chronic Disease

“…Social support can buffer the negative impact of life events on health and positively influence psychosocial adjustment and self-management of chronic illness [35]. A large amount of studies found associations between social support and clinical and self-management/self-care behaviors [36], health-related quality of life [37,38], and patient adherence to treatment [39]. Patient's network for social support includes family and friends, social environment, and all health providers [40].…”