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Restoring Intimacy in Relationships Affected by Cancer

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Cancer and Sexual Health

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Urology ((CCU))

Abstract

Existing medical treatments for men diagnosed with prostate cancer have a number of distressing side effects, which can include erectile ­dysfunction, leakage of urine with orgasm, dry ejaculation, penile shrinkage, loss of libido and responsiveness to sexual visual cues, urinary incontinence, bowel dysfunction and rectal bleeding, hot flashes, weight gain, fatigue, loss of muscle mass, pain, and physical impairment [1, 2]. Symptoms can occur immediately after treatment or may not develop until 2–5 years ­following treatment [3]. These symptoms can be troubling for men because they can compromise masculinity, self-esteem, sexual confidence, responsivity to sexual cues, sexual fantasies, sexual desire, the ability to engage in sexual activity, and subsequently increase psychological distress [2 4–7]. Sexual dysfunction can be a particularly difficult stressor. Although approximately half of men diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer use erectile aids to partially or completely restore erectile functioning [8, 9], the majority of men do not continue to use and/or are not satisfied with these aids [9–11]. Ultimately, many men never achieve the same level of or satisfaction with sexual activity as they experienced before the cancer [6], and the disruptions to sexual activity compromise men’s quality of life [7, 12].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section Chief of Population Studies, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, UMDNJ – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, USA

    Sharon Manne (Professor of Medicine)

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  1. Sharon Manne
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sexual Medicine Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, East 68th Street 353, New York, 10021, New York, USA

    John P. Mulhall

  2. Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Dept. Radiation Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Groene Hilledijk 301, Rotterdam, 3075 EA, Netherlands

    Luca Incrocci

  3. Alvarado Hospital, Alvarado Road 6719, San Diego, 92120, California, USA

    Irwin Goldstein

  4. New England Research Institutes, Galen Street 9, Watertown, 02472, Massachusetts, USA

    Ray Rosen

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Manne, S. (2011). Restoring Intimacy in Relationships Affected by Cancer. In: Mulhall, J., Incrocci, L., Goldstein, I., Rosen, R. (eds) Cancer and Sexual Health. Current Clinical Urology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-916-1_49

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-916-1_49

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

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