Prostate cancer diagnoses should include mental health support, doctors urge

Researchers have found a lack of support for people diagnosed with prostate cancer (Image: GETTY) Experts are calling for mental health screenings as research reveals a shocking lack of support during and after prostate cancer diagnoses. University of South Australia doctors and researchers are advocating for mental health screenings to be part of the standard procedure when diagnosing prostate cancer. This comes after research showed patients urgently need more support both during and immediately after their diagnosis.

The study, funded by Movember, involved over 13,000 South Australian men with prostate cancer. It found that 15% began taking mental health medications immediately after being diagnosed, while 6% sought help from mental health services. Despite these already worrying figures, the study emphasised that this also reveals the worrying gap between those who seek help and those who likely need it.

Up to 40% of prostate cancer patients are considered at risk of mental distress. function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.createElement('script');el.

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