WANING SEXUAL FUNCTION - THE MOST IMPORTANT DISEASE-SPECIFIC DISTRESSFOR PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE-CANCER

The objective was to investigate how prostate cancer and its treatment affects sexual, urinary and bowel functions and to what extent eventu al complications cause distress. A questionnaire was sent to 431 men a ged 50-80 years with prostate cancer diagnosed in 1999 in the Stockhol m area (Sweden) and 435 randomly selected men with a similar age distr ibution. Sexual function, as compared with their youth, was diminished in a majority of all men. The prostate cancer patients were, however, more likely to report low frequency and/or intensity in all aspects o f sexual function. A majority of the men were distressed by a waning s exual capacity. The proportion of men with prostate cancer who were se verely distressed owing to a decline in sexual function was larger tha n in the reference group. The willingness to trade off an intact sexua l function for long-term survival varied considerably among the men in the reference group. Urinary and bowel symptoms were less common than a waning sexual function in both groups, and few appeared to be sever ely distressed by urinary or bowel symptoms. A decline in sexual funct ions was the most common cause of disease-specific distress in men wit h prostate cancer.