Table 2 Results from 833 men asked about intrusive thoughts about prostate cancer or its treatment and symptoms of quality of life before and 3Â months after surgery for prostate cancer
 Questions and response categories | Before surgery | 3 months after surgery |
|---|---|---|
How often in the past month have you had negative thoughts about your prostate cancer, suddenly and unintentionally? | Frequency (%) | Frequency (%) |
  Never | 226 (27) | 338 (41) |
  Less than once a week | 299 (36) | 304 (37) |
  At least once a week | 127 (15) | 105 (13) |
  At least three times a week | 71 (9) | 46 (6) |
  At least once a day | 63 (8) | 30 (4) |
  At least three times a day | 32 (4) | 6 (1) |
  At least seven times a day | 11 (1) | 2 (0) |
  Not indicated | 4 (00) | 2 (0) |
How often in the past month have you had positive thoughts about your prostate cancer, suddenly and unintentionally? | ||
  Never | 493 (59) | 375 (45) |
  Less than once a week | 130 (16) | 183 (22) |
  At least once a week | 94 (11) | 126 (15) |
  At least three times a week | 54 (7) | 79 (10) |
  At least once a day | 38 (5) | 47 (6) |
  At least three times a day | 11 (1) | 9 (1) |
  At least seven times a day | 2 (0) | 6 (1) |
  Not indicated | 11 (1) | 8 (1) |
How intrusive have you experienced the sudden thoughts, positive as well as negative, about your prostate cancer? | ||
  Not relevant, did not have any | 190 (23) | 242 (29) |
  Not intrusive at all | 210 (25) | 318 (38) |
  A little bit intrusive | 256 (31) | 182 (22) |
  Moderately intrusive | 112 (14) | 70 (8) |
  Very intrusive | 60 (7.) | 15 (2) |
  Not indicated | 5 (1) | 6 (1) |
How would you describe your quality of life during the past month? | ||
  No quality of life = 0 | 1 (0) | 1 (0) |
  1 | 15 (2) | 8 (1) |
  2 | 37 (4) | 46 (6) |
  3 | 107 (13) | 133 (16) |
  4 | 215 (26) | 261 (31) |
  5 | 299 (36) | 269 (32) |
  Best possible quality of life = 6 | 157 (19) | 113 (14) |
  Not indicated | 2 (0) | 2 (0) |
Have you, sometime during night, woken up with nervousness, anxiety or feeling of discomfort during the past month? | ||
  No | 431 (52) | 552 (66) |
  Yes, but more seldom than once a week | 169 (20) | 153 (18) |
  Yes, at least once a week | 111 (13) | 67 (8) |
  Yes, at least three times a week | 82 (10) | 41 (5) |
  Yes, every night | 35 (4) | 20 (2) |
  Not indicated | 5 (1) | 0 (0) |
Have you been feeling depressive during the past month? | ||
  Never = 0 | 135 (16) | 236 (28) |
  1 | 220 (26) | 225 (27) |
  2 | 156 (19) | 131 (16) |
  3 | 131 (16) | 103 (12) |
  4 | 119 (14) | 87 (10) |
  5 | 59 (7) | 45 (5) |
  All the time = 6 | 9 (1) | 5 (1) |
  Not indicated | 4 (1) | 1 (0) |