Interactive Program Boosts Life
of Prostate Cancer Patients Suffering from Erectile Dysfunction
07 Sep, 2005
An intervention run by specialist nurses and aided
by an interactive computer program may help improve men's quality
of life after prostate cancer treatment and its common post-treatment
problems such as sexual
dysfunction and worry about cancer recurrence.
The nurses could help patients identify their concerns through the
interactive computer program, and figure out what to do about them.
According to a study, if quality-of-life issues, like sexual function,
urinary symptoms and anxiety over
cancer recurrence, aren't addressed early, they could grow and take
firmer hold much like cancer does.
The study included 99 prostate cancer patients who were randomly
assigned to receive either the nurse-led intervention or standard
care following treatment for their cancer.
Overall, sexual dysfunction was the most common problem -- affecting
23 percent of patients -- followed by urinary symptoms and relationship
strain. When a problem was identified, the nurse and patient would
settle on a strategy to deal with it.
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http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-09-07T141919Z_01_YUE751474_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-PROSTATE-CANCER-DC.XML
