It's tough living with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. While the disease has one of the highest survival rates of any cancer, the side effects of treatment can be distressing, life-long and take a heavy toll.
Compared with men in the general population, men with prostate cancer are twice as likely to experience depression and three times more likely to experience anxiety. For those who know them and love them, life is often never the same after a diagnosis.
Helping men deal with the major life stress of prostate cancer can make all the difference to their mental and physical health as they travel on their survivorship journey. Men and their partners need a map to find the path that will take them back to a sense of ease and coping; a way to make treatment decisions they can live with; to clearly communicate their healthcare needs; to seek the right level of psychological help appropriate for them.
That's why Professor Suzanne Chambers AO, a world leader in the psychology of prostate cancer, developed this practical guidebook through her research and clinical work with many men and their partners over more than 30 years.
Facing the Tiger is not a guidebook about treatment options and does not give any medical advice. It suggests different perspectives for men and their partners on where they would like to be as they progress through their cancer journey and proven strategies to help that progress. Personal stories from men and women highlight the issues discussed and provide vivid insights into how others deal with prostate cancer. The book draws from over a decade of psycho-oncology research and practice to acknowledge that everyone's experience of prostate cancer is their own. There is no one right or wrong way to approach this stressful time, but the right guidance is essential to finding your own way.
First released in 2013, it has been updated with new survivor contributions and additional content, including key prostate cancer survivorship essentials for a better quality of life. It remains the most sought-after patient resource for prostate cancer in Australia.