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Cancer Control Research

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men. Treatment decisions are extremely complex, varying by age, stage of disease and personal preferences. Side effects can be serious and long-lasting, affecting a man's sexual function and continence. Although physician's can recommend treatment options, men must decide which treatment they will undergo. However, no comprehensive tools exist to guide men, their partners and their physicians through a shared decision process. This Phase II project will complete Charting Your Course(C), a CD-ROM and Internet system that educates men with prostate cancer and their partners guiding them to a treatment decision. The prototype product increased knowledge on topics covered in depth (i.e., staging and brachytherapy). Testers also approved the concept behind the decision-making and physician communication components. In Phase II, we will: 1) complete the script and audio-visual assets; 2) produce Charting Your Course (C), 3) field test the product; and 4) prepare a launch plan with the American Foundation for Urologic Diseases. Charting Your Course(C) can be used with a home computer, in an outpatient setting, or in a support group to help men and their partners compare treatment options, explore their personal preferences, and interact more effectively with their physicians. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: Men with prostate cancer and physicians treating them have indicated to us that this is a product that they would purchase. This product will be sold as a consumer product, marketing to the over 200,000 men a year who are diagnosed with prostate cancer.