Problems associated with prostate cancer: Differences of opinion among health care providers, patients, and spouses

Background. Problems accompany any experience with cancer. Methods. Patients, spouses, and providers were asked to identify their perceptions of the problems associated with recently diagnosed prostate cancer. Their answers were compared across respondent categories (physician, nurse, patient, and spouse) and cross-informant variance was analyzed. Results. Significant variation in responses was noted by respondent categories in spite of the relatively small sample. Conclusion. The response variance may contribute to communication problems among patients, spouses, and providers, as well as missed opportunities for medically appropriate referrals to psychological treatment and community support resources.