“An important aspect after prostate cancer treatment is the aftercare. Regular follow-up appointments are necessary, for example, to monitor whether the tumor is coming back, but discussing the potential issues that patients may face is just as important. Consider issues like erectile dysfunction, urinary or bowel problems, but also fatigue. The question is whether it would be beneficial if general practitioners were to play a greater role in this aftercare. They know their patient very well and see the bigger picture. After all, many patients are of a certain age and often already face other difficulties as well. I was assigned the task of setting up a large study to find out whether a greater role for the GP could offer added value. To do this, I traveled across the country by train. I visited hospitals, gave presentations, and tried to convince urologists to participate in our PROSPEC study. That was just before the coronavirus, and I enjoyed it a lot. My team and I also personally phoned every general practitioner to ask if they would be open to participating in the study. We expect to have the results in early 2023. In the meantime, I have started as a postdoc at the Department of General Medicine of the Amsterdam UMC.”
Barbara will defend her thesis on July 5.
This research was financially supported by the Dutch Cancer Society.
prof. dr. L. van de Poll & prof. dr. H. van der Poel
Annelies Boekhout & Kristel van Asselt