Prostate cancer is a serious health problem in men and kills around 25,000 men per year in the United States alone. Although this disease can be deadly, the cancer usually does not affect male sexual function but treatments used to cure prostate cancer can have mild to severe sexual side effects, including impotence. The prostate itself doesn’t work to help men achieve erections it merely produces fluids that appear in ejaculate to help sperm survive.
How Prostate Cancer Treatments Can Affect Erectile Function
The prostate doesn’t have any bearing on whether a man can achieve an erection or not. But there is a bundle of nerves that help the penis become engorged in blood to create an erection that are located in close proximity to the prostate. In some cases, if these nerves are damaged during a procedure such as a radical prostatectomy, it can severely affect erectile function and may lead to impotency. For the most part, the most common problems after prostate treatment is dry ejaculation where the semen, instead of being released through the urethra, is backed up into the bladder where later it is safely released through urine.
Treatments that may affect erectile function:
Radical Prostatectomy
This surgery completely removes the prostate and the seminal vesicles from the body. The goal of the surgery is to help the patient regain urinary control and clear the pathway for the urethra, and in the process can do some serious damage to erectile function by harming or removing the nerves necessary to achieve an erection. This surgery usually results in immediate impotence for the patient, but for some, about 20% of the patients, erectile function may return over time. Men who have these important nerves spared during surgery have about a 10% improved likelihood of regaining erectile function over those who do not. For those in which erectile function does return, some begin to experience erections after four weeks, for others it takes as long as four years!
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays or particles to kill cancer cells. Radiation is sometimes used as the initial treatment for low-grade cancer that is still confined within the prostate gland or that has only spread to nearby tissues. Approximately 70% of men who have radiotherapy for prostate cancer end up becoming impotent. It is believed that this is due to the progressive damage to the nerves and small blood vessels located near the prostate that are important for achieving an erection.
Erectile Dysfunction Treatments
If you’ve undergone a prostate cancer treatment that has left you unable to achieve a satisfactory erection, there are many treatments available that can have you back to peak sexual performance. Oral erectile dysfunction medications, vacuum suction devices and the injection method are all popular ways for men who have had prostate cancer to regain their sexual health.
