40% мужчин с раком простаты оказались не готовы к влиянию лечения на сексуальную функцию

Many prostate cancer patients and their partners are unprepared for the impact of treatment on their sexual function, according to new research funded by the Irish Cancer Society. Around 4,000 men are diagnosed here each year with the cancer, which means about one-in-seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. PRO-ACT (Patient-led Research On sexual experience After Cancer Treatment) aims to understand how prostate cancer treatment affects intimacy, mental health and quality of life for both patients and their partners. The survey involved 1,150 patients and partners. It reveals how prostate cancer affects intimacy, mental health and quality of life for both patients and their partners. We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences It found that 40% of respondents said they were unprepared for the impact of the treatment on their sexual function. It showed that 60% said the impact of treatment on sexual function was worse or much worse than expected. The vast majority of prostate cancer patients said that a longer or clearer discussion with their medical team or doctor would have helped them to be more prepared for the impact of treatment on their sexual function. Patients with prostate cancer are living longer and survival rates are improving. The Irish Cancer Society said the findings of its survey mean that there is a need to look at quality of life for patients with prostate cancer. PRO-ACT Co-Chief Investigator and prostate cancer patient Martin Sweeney said they found that in 66% of cases, patients were underprepared for the sexual consequences of prostate cancer treatment. Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Brock, he said: "There were notable differences between what men were expecting before their treatment and the actual outcome that they that they actually experienced." "The outstanding reason given for these men is that their clinician and their medical team did not provide them with sufficient information." Speaking of his own experience, Mr Sweeney said he was diagnosed when he was 49 and he was devastated. He said he made a "knee-jerk" decision around a procedure to get rid of the cancer. "I therefore decided on a radical procedure which has had lifelong impacts on me and my sexual function, my urinary control, and my mental health generally," he said. "And as a result of that, my relationship with my partner changed. We're still together. We're better, stronger than ever. But it was a very difficult time, particularly the first six months or a year after diagnosis. Dr Claire Kilty, Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, that there were still taboos around sexual function and intimacy. "What you can find is when people are affected by these issues after cancer treatment, there really is a hesitancy to talk about them with their partners, with family members, with their healthcare professionals," she said. "So, what we really need to do is to make sure that we are listening to the partners. We know that partners often provide a lot of those practical, those emotional supports." She said that she felt that clinicians were focused, rightly, on outcomes and saving lives, but that now we need to look at patient experiences as well.