Bigger is Better, by Gosh!

…but does it really matter?

In a study reported by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Center in Boston, a small percentage of men who had been treated for recurring prostate cancer reported (complained, actually) to their doctors that their penis seemed to be shorter than before treatment.

A report, published in the January 2013 issue of the journal Urology, concludes that perceived penis shortening in men with recurrent prostate cancer may affect their quality of life.

The survey included 948 men who had been treated for prostate cancer and the prostate cancer recurred. 3.7 percent of the men surveyed had undergone prostatectomy and 2.7 percent of men who had radiation plus hormone therapy reported penis shrinkage concerns. No men who received radiation without hormone therapy reported penis length concerns.

Although the study seems a bit unscientific (to me anyway), it points out it is very important that all men facing treatment need to know what side effects they may face from each of the several possible treatments. The conclusions make good common sense but, in fact, no penises were actually measured before, during, or after the survey. No questions about penis length were included in the survey. All concerns about penis shrinkage were offered spontaneously by men being interviewed.

My unscientific take on this…

A large percentage of men who undergo any kind of prostate cancer treatment will eventually have an increased risk of incontinence and impotence—regardless of penis length. This certainly trumps penis size in my world. In the past ten years I have had a radical prostatectomy, gone through radiation therapy, and taken hormones more than five years. I have concerns about my health, side effects, and survival potential. I keep track of PSA increases, hot flashes, possible metastasis, nausea, fatigue, and weakness. I believe most men with prostate cancer adapt pretty well to whatever happens; the nastiest of side effects and the inevitable progress of incurable cancer.

For me it’s a matter of priorities. I gotta admit that penis length is way, way, way down on my list of what’s important in the treatment of my prostate cancer. But that's just me. What do you think?

axman