What information patients with localised prostate cancer hear and understand.

Patients with localised prostate cancer can decide on a treatment option that is appropriate for their needs and lifestyle only if their doctor provides information that they understand and can remember. This small study (n10) examined the knowledge of men who had been diagnosed but had not been treated for early stage disease. A semi-structured interview schedule enabled these men to demonstrate their knowledge of their disease and its treatment. They were aware that they had incomplete understanding, but no one asked that information should be provided until, and in a language, they understood. Only two men felt that the choice of treatment belonged to them, others agreed with the decision of their urologist although they did not understand why a specific treatment was recommended or the implications of that treatment.