Prostate cancer and sexuality. The role of nurses in improving the quality of patients’ life: Review

Introduction: The growing number of prostate cancer survivors with long-term side effects, which affect the quality of life, has created the need to acquire more knowledge about holistic nursing care for these patients. Aim: The investigation of the role of nurses in improving the quality of life in relation to the sexuality of patients with prostate cancer. Methods: A review of studies included searching for reviews and research studies in Google Scholar and PubMed databases, as well as hand-picking books, which refer to the sexuality of patients with prostate cancer and published from 2014 up to 2020. The keywords were used: “prostate cancer”, “quality of life”, “sexuality”, “sexual dysfunction”. Results: Of the studies have shown that treatments for prostate cancer have a negative effect on patients' sexuality and not the cancer itself. Due to the chronicity of this cancer, in contrast to the metastatic course in general, survival is the primary issue, but next comes the good health quality of life. The quality of men’s life with prostate cancer is affected by their sexual function, as it is a major issue in their lives. Conclusions: The role of nurses in the context of nursing evaluation is crucial in the quality of patients’ life with prostate cancer. These patients need providing appropriate care by health professionals and through studies they express their gratitude to those doctors and nurses who devote their time for questions and concerns. Researches need carrying out in order to examine effective methods to manage the sexual side effects of the treatments of prostate cancer. Keywords: prostate cancer, quality of life, sexuality, sexual dysfunction

Keywords: prostate cancer, quality of life, sexuality, sexual dysfunction