Dr. Faustine Williams Co-Authors Article on Prostate Cancer Survivorship

Dr. Faustine Williams, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Management and Policy in the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, has co-authored an article in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.    

The article, "African American prostate cancer survivorship: Exploring the role of social support in quality of life after radical prostatectomy," explores the African American prostate cancer survivorship experience following radical prostatectomy and factors contributing to quality of life during survival.  

A few previous studies have suggested that African American men may experience more distress than Caucasian men when facing the side-effects of radical prostatectomy.   According to this article, the increased side effects among African American men may be due to traditional masculine role norms and negative perceptions of “disease disclosure” in the African American community. 

The article suggests that social supports should be strengthened by developing coping skills and help-seeking behaviors among African American men. 

Dr. Williams’ co-authors were from Washington University in St. Louis and St. Louis University.  The Journal of Psychosocial Oncology is an essential source for up-to-date clinical and research material geared toward health professionals who provide psychosocial services to cancer patients, their families, and their caregivers. The journal in its third decade of examining exploratory and hypothesis testing and presenting program evaluation research on critical areas of information.