A diagnosis of urologic cancer can profoundly impact male sexuality, both physically and emotionally, as shown in this study of 156 male patients diagnosed with untreated genitourinary cancer. The study aimed to assess the effects of a urologic cancer diagnosis on sexuality and evaluate how thoroughly healthcare providers addressed these concerns at the time of diagnosis. Patients, aged 22 to 85 (mean age 65), included cases of prostate (79.4%), bladder (9.6%), kidney (5.1%), testicular (3.2%), and penile cancer (2.5%). While 89.1% of patients deemed sexual activity important, a significant 77.5% experienced a decrease in sexual frequency following their diagnosis. Only 21.7% maintained their pre-diagnosis frequency, and one patient reported an increase. Additionally, more than half (51.2%) reported new anxiety or depression, with 70.5% developing various fears, such as concerns about losing erectile function (62.8%) or fearing cancer transmission to a partner (69.2%).
Notably, patients felt that sexuality was insufficiently addressed by healthcare providers. Only 23.7% of doctors openly discussed sexual issues, while 19.8% offered superficial guidance, and 56.4% did not address the topic at all. This communication gap impacted patient satisfaction, with only 41.6% of patients satisfied with their doctor’s approach to discussing sexuality, while the remaining 58.3% expressed dissatisfaction. These findings underscore that sexual health concerns extend beyond patients with genital cancers to those with kidney and bladder cancers as well. Anxiety, depression, and fears related to cancer and its treatment can all contribute to sexual difficulties, underscoring the need for empathetic, multidisciplinary care and better education around sexual health for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
