Table 1. The 20 statements used to assess cancer-related knowledge.
|
Knowledge |
||
|---|---|---|
| Pretrial | Post-trial | |
| Cancer in general and prostate anatomy | 2.49a (1.01)b | 2.82 (0.75) |
| Male hormones are produced by the brain | ||
| Cancer is a type of infection of tissue | ||
| The prostate is part of the penis | ||
| The prostate surrounds the first part of the tube which carries urine from the bladder to the penis | ||
| Disease advancement | 2.75 (1.29) | 3.13 (1.08) |
| Cancer is a lump of cells that may invade and destroy surrounding tissues | ||
| Prostate cancer can spread to other parts of the body | ||
| Prostate cancer never spreads outside the prostate | ||
| Growth of prostate cancer is driven by the male hormones | ||
| Aims and side effects of surgery | 3.07 (0.98) | 3.22 (0.94) |
| The aim of prostate surgery is to remove part or all of the tumour in the prostate | ||
| The aim of prostate surgery is to remove the testicles | ||
| Possible side effects of prostate surgery include problems in control of the bladder | ||
| After prostate surgery most prostate patients are incontinent | ||
| Aims and side effects of radiotherapy | 2.39 (1.05) | 2.67 (0.68) |
| A possible side effect of radiotherapy is breast enlargement | ||
| Possible side ffects of radiotherapy include tiredness and nausea | ||
| The aim of radiotherapy is to destroy cancer cells while doing as little harm as possible to normal cells | ||
| The aim of radiotherapy is to remove the prostate | ||
| Aims and side effects of hormone therapy | 1.92 (1.27) | 2.55 (1.00) |
| The aim of hormone therapy is to increase the amount of male hormones | ||
| Possible side effects of hormone therapy include the inability to have an erection | ||
| The aim of hormone therapy is to slow down or shrink the tumour | ||
| A possible side effect of hormone therapy is increased body strength | ||
| Overall | 12.62 (3.90) | 14.38 (3.00) |
a
Mean.
b
s.d.