Patient-led concept development When confronted with the daunting prospect of a cancer recurrence, patients are faced with the overwhelming decision about what course of treatment is best for them. This was the reality for Colin O’Brien, a member of ANZUP’s Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP) who, five years ago, discovered his prostate cancer had returned. This time around, the way forward and the treatment pathway was unclear. There was additional factors Colin had to consider that added complexity to the decisions he needed to make.
It was this revelation that motivated Colin to bring this problem to the ANZUP Concept Development Workshop. ANZUP encourages members to bring new concepts forward for development through a series of Concept Development Workshops (CDWs). The CDWs are designed to facilitate and support members who have an idea or concept they would like to present for discussion and, if supported, to develop further.
COLIN O’BRIEN
Men face many issues when their prostate cancer returns. Once Colin recovered from the initial shock of finding out the cancer had come back, he adjusted to the reality it was not likely to go away. He started to consider what was important to his life and what impact treatment would have on his ability to do the things he loved, like travel. Colin also had to take into account other preexisting health conditions and understand what effect treatment would have on his overall health and wellbeing. Colin spoke to his oncologist, Professor Scott Williams, about his treatment options and his uncertainty. Prof. Williams admitted he sees at least one man a day, diagnosed with prostate cancer, who faces similar confusion about the way forward. Thousands of men in Australia are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and 30% to 40% undergo a radical prostatectomy (4,200 in 2020 across Australia), the ‘gold standard treatment’ for providing the best possible outcome. Of these, 30-40% of men will see their cancer return, i.e., biochemical recurrence when PSA blood levels are 0.2 or higher. This means thousands of men are in the same predicament as Colin.
The ANZUP concept development process:
IDEA
CDW
SAC
WORKING GROUP
• New idea or concept • Complete concept outline
• Reviewed by MDT • Written feedback
• S AC Endorsement based on subcommittee recommendations
• W orking group for development, mentoring and support
CDW – Concept Development Workshops SAC – Scientific Advisory Committee MDT – Multi-Disciplinary Team
Radical prostatectomy is surgery to remove the entire prostate gland and surrounding lymph nodes to treat men with localised prostate cancer. A LITTLE BELOW THE BELT 13
