What is it about?
As one of the coordinators of a peer support group for LGBTQ+ people and their partners who have been affected by prostate cancer, Dave Wardell discusses measures that could be implemented to help clinicians better understand and support this group.
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Why is it important?
The impacts of prostate cancer treatment on gay and bisexual men are different, and potentially more severe, than for heterosexual men. Therefore, when explaining the clinical equivalence of radiotherapy or hormone treatment versus radical prostatectomy, it is important that healthcare professionals discuss the potential post-treatment effects on the patient’s sexuality, sex life and self-esteem.
Perspectives
Prostate cancer directly affects sexual function, and this is of great significance to gay, bisexual and queer-identifying patients, who can experience severe psychological distress from the sexual side effects of treatment. This distress often relates to feeling a loss of manhood, a loss of sexual desire and a sense that one’s desirability has been removed. This is especially felt by those who had discovered their sexual orientation later in life.
Dave Wardell
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: How can healthcare services support LGBTQ+ patients with prostate cancer?, British Journal of Healthcare Management, November 2022, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/bjhc.2022.0087.
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