“Prostate Cancer Surgery: Are Side Effects Common?”
Since prostate cancer surgery is so common, we need to keep up on the possibilities of adverse side effects. A study reported in the June, 2011 Journal of Urology, found that, “nearly half of men who undergo surgery for prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy) find themselves with greater incontinence problems and less sexual function than they anticipated.” Actually, 17% anticipated better sexual function after the surgery and about half of men expected the same function after surgery as before. However, all experts stated that it is difficult to predict how likely a patient is to recover his urinary and sexual function. Another research team recently found that some degree of incontinence was also common, although men tended not to be significantly bothered by it. Dr. Tracey Krupski of the University of Virginia, said men’s unrealistic expectations can be a double-edged sword. A 2015 at the European Association of Urology 30th Annual Congress in Madrid reported that after a radical prostatectomy, it is highly uncommon for a man to have erections like the ones he normally had before surgery.
