Orgasm and sex life still exist in post-prostatectomy

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Sex life and having an orgasm after prostatectomy is the biggest concern to many men who undergone the surgery.

Prostate cancer occurs when abnormal cells develop in the prostate and continue to multiply in an uncontrolled way and sometimes spread outside the prostate into the nearby or distant parts of the body. Majority of men with low grade prostate cancer can live through many years without any symptoms and without it spreading and becoming life-threatening. While, high grade disease spreads quickly and can be lethal.

To prevent this disease from spreading and continuously damaging healthy cells, treatments including surgery, radiation therapy and chemo therapy are being done. But these treatments impose greater risk for men in terms of their sexual functions in many ways.

According to Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, men that have undergone the treatments suffers sexual malfunction and brings down their self confidence in terms with their sex life with partners.

Common treatment option for localized prostate cancer, and some instance to men with locally advanced prostate cancer, is Radical Prostatectomy. This procedure involves the removal of the entire prostate gland where cancer is growing. Physical changes occur as a side effects, such as erectile dysfunction, change in the size of the penis and urinary incontinence, of the procedure and can be permanent.

Aside from the physical side effects, the removal of the prostate gland along with the seminal vesicles can cause dry orgasm. Since seminal vesicles helps in giving additional fluids to sperms, infertility may also result if men undergone radical prostatectomy. Likewise, painful orgasms and leaking urine in the orgasm may be imminent.

However, there is an article suggesting about orgasm after radical prostatectomy. Per Harvard Prostate Knowledge, Dr. Ravi Kacker, a urologist and fellow in male sexual medicine at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said, "Sometimes orgasms are forgotten because everyone is so focused on erectile dysfunction."

Orgasm is the climax of sexual excitement characterized by intensely pleasurable feelings centered in the genitals and experienced as an accompaniment to ejaculation.

Dr. Kacker also explains that it is true some men, after radical prostatectomy, do not have trouble in achieving orgasm. The missing sensation of fullness and the lack of ejaculate are the only big changes.

Men can still achieve orgasm on their own from manual stimulation and with a sexual partner through manual and oral stimulation without erection.

Also, hormone adjustments and a cut-back or change of depressants can enhance towards experiencing orgasm.

Aside from all of these, medications and implants are still important to help alleviate the side effects of the treatments. It is also good to be open to sexual partners about other ways to enjoy sex and what feels good during sex. And most especially, talk with a health professional such as psychologist or sex therapist who can give strategies and motivation in sex life.