The erectile problems you might experience after being diagnosed with prostate cancer can either be temporary or permanent. In most cases, these problems can be regarded as treatment side-effects but it is not uncommon for them to be cause by shifting moods and strong feeling such as anxiety, depression or lack of self-confidence. The best suggestion would be to talk about these problems with your partner, if you have one, or a sex therapist. The physician will always consider as important the patient’s personal preferences when prescribing a treatment; this decision will also be based on the patient’s age, the type of cancer which affects him and the stage of the cancer. Impotence is one of the common treatment side-effect which can affect the sex life, but it is definitely not the only symptom responsible for the erectile problems.

On the prostate cancer conventional treatments list we find prostatectomy, as the most popular treatment procedure, followed by the radiation therapy, the androgen deprivation therapy also known as hormone therapy, chemotherapy and the newest procedure, cryotherapy. These treatments could also be regarded as the main causes for impotence which is defined as an erectile dysfunction occurring when men find it difficult to develop or maintain a penile erection, even when aroused. When prostatectomy or the surgical removal of the gland is done, shortly afterwards the patient may report impotence. This happens in almost thirty six per cent of the cases but this side-effect could not be avoided; the recommended treatments for such a situation is the well known Viagra or the sildenafil tablets and injections with Caverject; there are also devices which help stiffen the penis and penile prosthesis. Patients sometimes report penis shrinkage or a decrease of the amount of ejaculation, but the causes could also be found at a psychological level.

The radiation therapy is done by using two procedures: the internal beam radiation or the external beam radiation. Both methods have as side-effects incontinence and impotence. The first radiation procedure is done by inserting radioactive pellets in the prostate gland and leave them there to slowly decay; these seeds could easily find their way out of the prostate capsule and migrate to the surrounding areas of the infected organ such as the bladder, urethra and finally passed in the urinary liquid. Because there is always the possibility for the seeds to migrate through the sperm, doctors recommend the use of condoms and in case they don’t want to use this safety protection, men could also masturbate a few times after this therapy. The radiation therapy could also cause incontinence, diarrhea, urinary catheter or tiredness which might affect the sex life of the patient. The androgen deprivation therapy is known as the chemical castration and is a treatment procedure using two types of drugs: the LH-RH agonists and the anti-androgenic drugs. The side effects are physical but also psychological. Breast enlargement and impotence are frequently reported; sometimes the patients lack the interest for sex and start to worry about not infecting their partner, even though prostate cancer is not infectious.

Patients who underwent chemotherapy or cryotherapy have also reported side-effects such as impotence, but as I’ve stated before, it’s a condition which can not be avoided. In the fortunate cases the most common side-effects usually wear off some days or weeks after finishing your treatment; even impotence can be a temporary effect. The important thing is to gather information about the treatment you incline to choose, because you can not possibly leave the prostate cancer untreated, find out more about its side-effects and what impact has on the sexual life and seek for a doctor’s advise whenever you find it necessary.