How to Support a Partner With Prostate Cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates that American men will develop 192,280 new cases of prostate cancer in 2009, and 27,360 men will die from it. Partner support helps a patient recover from the disease more effectively, and gives a man better quality of life during treatment and recovery. Because treatment for prostate cancer may include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or a combination of all three, a man with prostate cancer needs physical, emotional and mental support from his partner.

Things You'll Need

• Calendar
• Pencil
• Notebook
• Condoms

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Instructions

• 1

  Attend medical visits and treatments with your partner. Take a calendar to coordinate and schedule appointments and a notebook to write down what the doctor says. Remind your partner about what happened at the appointment and jot down any questions the two of you think of after coming home.

• 2

  Keep an updated medications and healthcare provider list handy at all times in case of an emergency hospitalization or adverse treatment reaction. Inform hospital and pharmacy staff of all medications, allergies and current treatments. Ask doctors what side effects to expect during treatment and which reactions are serious enough to report.

• 3

  Let your partner know that you are willing to talk about his feelings, but avoid turning every conversation to cancer. Allow yourself and your partner to take a break from the cancer every now and then by going out together and on social engagements. Help your partner find support in groups of other men with prostate cancer, and join a support group for partners of men with prostate cancer.

• 4

  Express your sexual desire to your partner without pressure. After prostate surgery, your partner may experience difficulty in getting erections or ejaculating. These problems may diminish over time. A year or more after radiation treatment to the genital area, a man can become impotent. Find alternate ways of remaining intimate with your partner through sex play and romance. Use condoms during sex if your partner has targeted radiation therapy beads in place. Because some radiation can be excreted in semen, ask a doctor for how long you will need to use condoms.

• 5

  Give your partner the space to regain independence during recovery from prostate cancer. Surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy cause fatigue. A diagnosis of prostate cancer may cause a man to feel depressed or anxious. Allow your partner to work through his temporary or permanent disabilities, while letting him know you are there to help. He may want to dress himself or take a walk on his own, even if it's difficult. Intervene only when he indicates he wants you to or when he's putting himself in danger.