Prostate Cancer
Course #63884 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Prostate cancer is a potentially debilitating illness that affects work, interpersonal relationships, and overall quality of life. Evidence has shown that if caught early, it can be treated effectively. Therefore, treating prostate cancer, whether by standard therapy or emerging treatments, can be beneficial to both healthcare professionals and their patients. This course will cover the epidemiology, diagnosis, screening, and pathophysiology of prostate cancer. It will also review the risks and benefits associated with screening. It discusses the potential role of diet in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Different treatment regimens for prostate cancer, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, androgen deprivation therapy, and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, will be outlined.
This intermediate course is designed for all psychologists involved in the care of patients with prostate cancer.
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
Although prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men, it has a relatively good prognosis when diagnosed and treated early. The purpose of this course is to educate psychologists about the epidemiology, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of prostate cancer to ensure that the disease is diagnosed early and treated properly.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Review the epidemiology and demographics of prostate cancer.
- Discuss what is known about the pathophysiology of prostate cancer.
- Discuss the associated symptoms and diagnosis of prostate cancer.
- State the current recommendations regarding prostate cancer screening.
- Describe the potential role of diet in reducing prostate cancer risk.
- Discuss the role of active surveillance, surgery and radiotherapy as treatment options for localized prostate cancer.
- Describe the role of androgen deprivation therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer.
- Discuss the role of chemotherapy as a treatment for prostate cancer.
- Analyze the research and use of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors as a treatment for prostate cancer.
- Recommend interventions for men who have experienced erectile dysfunction or depression as a result of prostate cancer, including considerations for non-English-proficient patients.
John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, is currently the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. In this role, he leads efforts to develop and expand strategic partnerships that create meaningful change around important and timely public health issues. Previously, Dr. Whyte was the Director of Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Chief Medical Expert and Vice President, Health and Medical Education at Discovery Channel, part of the media conglomerate Discovery Communications.
Prior to this, Dr. Whyte was in the Immediate Office of the Director at the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality. He served as Medical Advisor/Director of the Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve the Safety, Security, and Quality of Healthcare. Prior to this assignment, Dr. Whyte was the Acting Director, Division of Medical Items and Devices in the Coverage and Analysis Group in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS is the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In his role at CMS, Dr.Whyte made recommendations as to whether or not the Medicare program should pay for certain procedures, equipment, or services. His division was responsible for durable medical equipment, orthotics/prosthetics, drugs/biologics/therapeutics, medical items, laboratory tests, and non-implantable devices. As Division Director as well as Medical Officer/Senior Advisor, Dr. Whyte was responsible for more national coverage decisions than any other CMS staff.
Dr. Whyte is a board-certified internist. He completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center as well as earned a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University School of Public Health. Prior to arriving in Washington, Dr. Whyte was a health services research fellow at Stanford and attending physician in the Department of Medicine. He has written extensively in the medical and lay press on health policy issues.
Contributing faculty, John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
James Trent, PhD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.