Prostate cancer, depression, and risk of suicide: should we pay more attention?

摘要

A very good friend of mine, aged 54 yr, has recently lived through the unpleasant experience of an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a prostate biopsy, and, ultimately, the diagnosis of a Gleason 7 bilateral prostate cancer. He decided to have radical prostatectomy, and after 4 mo, he is doing fine but has weak erections. When talking about his disease and the bad times he had, he repeatedly insisted that what he lacked the most from his surgeon was "compassion." He was well informed about all of the strategies, drugs, and techniques, but he said that he never had the opportunity to talk about how he was really feeling and how dreadful the disease was. Having gone through a painful divorce and a recent depression, he confessed that one night, alone, he had the strong desire to anticipate death, just as an escape from his fear of the disease. It is fortunate that it was no more than a bad night.