Sex After Prostate Cancer Requires Patience and Persistence

Sex after prostate cancer
Try to have persistence and patience

Sexual recovery articles
Erectile dysfunction options

Sex after prostate cancer can be deeply satisfying, but it may be different than it was before.

If your loved one didn’t have any erection problems before treatment, he was probably able to become aroused without any touching or direct stimulation.

That may change after treatment.

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Sexual recovery takes time

Despite what doctors may tell you, one study showed that it can take up to 4 years for men to see the most improvement in their sexual function after surgery for prostate cancer (we can vouch for that from personal experience).

Much depends on:

The type of treatment and whether one or both nerve bundles are removed or damaged
Whether a man had erection problems (called erectile dysfunction) prior to treatment
Age (impotence may become more of an issue as men get older)

Following a nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, recovery from impotence generally happens slowly over time. A man will have dry orgasms (some call it dry sex) because the prostate and seminal vesicles have been removed.

Following radiation therapy, if impotence is a problem, it typically develops over time.

Don’t give up

Experts say that you should not stop having sex, even if your man is not be able to get or maintain a “stuffable erection” (a lousy term, we know) for sexual intercourse.

It may help to approach sex after prostate cancer treatment:

Without any expectations
By being open to experimenting
By discussing what works and what doesn't

Try not to get discouraged if you don’t see the results you want right away. There are many ways to satisfy your partner other than intercourse.

It may also encourage you to know that a man does not need an erection to have an orgasm.

Current articles:

Helpful tips for when you first make love after prostate cancer treatment
Why penile rehabilitation and regular sex after prostate cancer treatment is so important
How men feel about impotence, an interview with Rhonda Fine, PhC, ARNP, MSN, Board Certified Clinical Sex Therapist
Intimacy despite impotence, an interview with Ralph & Barbara Alterowitz, authors of the book Intimacy with Impotence
Coping with the loss of the ability to have penetrative sex, an article by Dr. Jo-an Baldwin Peters
Sensate focus exercises to explore a new kind of intimacy
How self-pleasuring can re-engage sex after prostate cancer, an interview with Alicia B. Saunders, PhD, Board Certified Sex Therapist and Clinical Sexologist
How men feel about loss of libido during hormone therapy
Leaking urine during sex
Orgasm changes
How a certified sex therapist/sexologist can help