More than three million men in Europe have prostate cancer and almost half of them have lived with the disease for five years or more, according to European Commission. Advances in the management of prostate cancer means that more patients are beating the disease and looking ahead at what it means to live as a survivor.
To bring focus to the issues facing prostate cancer survivors, the team at Janssen recently launched the Prostate Cancer: Living, not Just Surviving report, summarizing findings of a pan-European survey of prostate cancer patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals looking at the physical, emotional and social impact of prostate cancer. Some key findings in the report include:[i]
Fatigue (66%) has the biggest negative impact on patients reporting chronic physical effects from the disease, over disability and pain (41% and 22% respectively)
Prostate cancer patients are more likely to worry about intimacy problems (54%) than dying (36%), however nearly two-thirds (62%) of patients are not willing to talk about such intimacy problems with their partner
In prostate cancer patients:
- 80% are unable to do activities they used to enjoy before diagnosis
- 85% are unable to be intimate with their partner following diagnosis
Only 14 percent of healthcare professionals feel that they have sufficient resources to address these types of quality of life issues
This launch is the culmination of more than two years’ work, involving many patient organisations from across Europe. We hope that by shining a light on the impact that prostate cancer has on the different facets of a patient’s life – whether it’s the breakdown in communication with healthcare professionals, or intimacy problems with partners – this report will help increase understanding and potentially move forward in improving the lives of prostate cancer patients from across Europe and around the world.
[i] ‘Prostate Cancer: Living not just surviving’ report. Available at: http://www.janssen-emea.com/hpc/reports/Living-prostate-cancer