"The thought of recurrence is also a psychosocial issue for our patients. They're being monitored very closely for five years, so there's always that thought in the back of their head, 'What if the cancer comes back? What are the next steps? What am I going to do next?' It's really important that we have conversations with patients and their families about where they're at, what we're looking for, and reassure them that we'll be with them during this journey and help them through whatever next steps happen," ONS member Clara Beaver, DNP, RN, AOCNS^®, ACNS-BC, manager of clinical education and clinical nurse specialist at Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, MI, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS^®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about prostate cancer survivorship considerations for nurses.

Music Credit: "Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 

Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by December 19, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to survivorship nursing considerations for people with prostate cancer.

Episode Notes 

• Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.
• ONS Podcast™ episodes:
  • Episode 390: Prostate Cancer Treatment Considerations for Nurses
  • Episode 387: Prostate Cancer Screening, Early Detection, and Disparities
  • Episode 201: Which Survivorship Care Model Is Right for Your Patient?
  • Episode 194: Sex Is a Component of Patient-Centered Care
• ONS Voice articles:
  • APRNs Collaborate With PCPs on Shared Survivorship Care Models
  • Exercise Before ADT Treatment Reduces Rate of Side Effects
  • Frank Conversations Enhance Sexual and Reproductive Health Support During Cancer
  • Here Are the Current Nutrition and Physical Activity Recommendations for Cancer Survivors
  • Nursing Considerations for Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care
  • Regular Physical Activity and Healthy Diet Lower Risk of All-Cause and Cardiac Mortality in Prostate Cancer Survivors
  • Sexual Considerations for Patients With Cancer
  • Sleep Disturbance Is Part of a Behavioral Symptom Cluster in Prostate Cancer Survivors
• ONS course: Essentials in Survivorship Care for the Advanced Practice Provider
• Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles:
  • A Patient-Specific, Goal-Oriented Exercise Algorithm for Men Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy
  • Incorporating Nurse Navigation to Improve Cancer Survivorship Care Plan Delivery
  • Prostate Cancer: Survivorship Care Case Study, Care Plan, and Commentaries
  • The Role of the Advanced Practice Provider in Bone Health Management for the Prostate Cancer Population
• Oncology Nursing Forum articles:
  • A Qualitative Exploration of Prostate Cancer Survivors Experiencing Psychological Distress: Loss of Self, Function, Connection, and Control
  • Identification of Symptom Profiles in Prostate Cancer Survivors
  • Sleep Hygiene Education, ReadiWatch™ Actigraphy, and Telehealth Cognitive Behavioral Training for Insomnia for People With Prostate Cancer
  • Understanding Men's Experiences With Prostate Cancer Stigma: A Qualitative Study
• Other ONS resources:
  • Late Effects of Cancer Treatment Huddle Card
  • Survivorship Care Plan Huddle Card
  • Survivorship Learning Library
• American Cancer Society (ACS): Living as a Prostate Cancer Survivor
• ACS prostate cancer survivorship studies

To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities. 

To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.

Highlights From This Episode

"Some of the most common late side effects [are] urinary, bowel, and sexual dysfunction issues. For urinary effects, it can include urgency and frequency, some incontinence, or a weak or slow urine stream that frequently bothers the patient after treatment. Bowel effects can happen such as constipation, diarrhea, or inflammation of the rectum, which can lead to bleeding or mucus discharge. And then erectile dysfunction is another side effect that patients with prostate cancer often deal with and have to work with their physicians on, depending on what they want with that function. Fatigue, lymphedema, and skin changes can also occur after treatment." TS 1:40

"If we can catch [prostate cancer] and take care of it at an early stage, overall survival is about 90%. If the disease is localized, it's 99%. If we can take out the prostate, radiate the prostate, we can do something with that—localized, 99% survival rate. If there's regional metastasis, it's about 90%. And if there's distant metastasis, it's about 30% survival." TS 3:55

"Prostate cancer recurs in about 20%–30% of patients within the first five years of initial treatment. ... There's not a lot of research out there that shows what can reduce risk, but what has been shown to be effective is regular exercise, quitting smoking, and eating a healthy diet. ... It's really important for our patients to understand the importance of having follow-up visits so that we can catch a recurrence quickly instead of waiting years down the road. Prostate cancer is usually a slow-growing disease, so if we can pick it up quickly in those revisits, we can start another treatment for the patient." TS 6:00

"Sexuality is not something m