Men, Masculinities, and Prostate Cancer: Australian and Canadian Patient Perspectives of Communication With Male Physicians

Abstract

Patient-physician communication is vital in cancer care, and aspects of the patients' experiences provide insight into what constitutes effective cancer communication. Complexities inherent in prostate cancer regarding screening, treatment(s) efficacy, and side effects commonly form the basis of patient-physician discussions. However, the specificities of patient-physician communications, particularly in the male dyad, and the connections to masculinity are poorly understood. The authors used secondary analysis of data from two interview studies of 19 Canadian and 33 Australian prostate cancer survivors who were treated by male general practitioners and prostate cancer specialists. Participants acknowledged that physician expertise and compassion underpinned the development of trust, and both reassurance and humor were effective communication strategies. Participants were often self-directed in researching prostate cancer, consistently using biomedical language and numerical markers when discussing their disease. Analysis of findings enabled interpretations regarding what might be considered prostate cancer communication competencies in the male patient-physician dyad.