The partners of patients with prostate cancer grapple with their own quality of life issues that impact their sexual wellbeing, a new study shows. Using the first questionnaire of its kind, the authors uncovered key challenges faced by patients’ wives and female partners, including difficulties with communication about their sexual needs, inadequate sexual health counseling by physicians, and feelings of isolation and loss of intimacy.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in American men, and both the condition and its treatments are well known to cause side effects ranging from erectile dysfunction to decreased libido. Although their impact on patients’ partners has been recognized, the details of their struggles had until now remained poorly understood and were not easily assessed. As a result, partners do not receive appropriate support from healthcare providers…
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