The many challenges of living with prostate cancer

Prostate cancer affects the lives of many men in different ways, but overall, their quality of life and wellbeing are severely hampered (Holm et al, 2018), particularly in the final years before death. Although most men continue to live long with prostate cancer following treatment, they experience a number of challenging symptoms, both physical and psychological, including anxiety; pain; guilt; the inability to have an erection; and feeling rejected, alone, lonely, worried and angry, all of which may impact on their sexuality and intimacy.

Although sexuality and intimacy are often used interchangeably, a fine difference can be articulated, as follows. Sexuality refers to how individuals feel about and express themselves sexually. It must be emphasised that sexuality is not just about sexual intercourse, but also about sexual desire and engaging in activities of a sexual nature, such as enhancing one's appearance, femininity or masculinity. This also includes the preference of non-binary individuals to be referred to as ‘they’. On the other hand, intimacy is about sharing love, affection and warmth, which can be achieved through touch, kissing, hugging etc. The point here is that men living with prostate cancer may not always be comfortable talking about their sexuality and may not engage in intimacy with their partners either.