Investigations of scientific research and epidemiological data invite us to reflect on what happens in the world of men’s health.
From 2003 to today, the team of Movember, whose name derives from the set of English words moustache (mustache) e november (November), through propaganda all over the world, he is enhancing the power of prevention, urging men from all over the world to undergo periodic checks in order to prevent prostate cancer.
Currently, the scientific community and healthcare professionals work with the goal of empowering men with this diagnosis to receive support and support, ensuring as much as possible the receipt of information necessary for the protection of the physical and mental condition, without underestimating individual and couple sexual health.
Receiving a diagnosis of cancer involves biological, psychological and social aspects; this event has a profound impact on the life of the patient and that of the partner, so much so that it can be considered as a “we disease”. Gravity could, for example, change the couple’s communication patterns, so intimacy is likely to undergo changes. The figure of the partner plays a crucial role in offering support during the pre and post-operative phase, in order to work together the transformations undergone in the sexual area. After prostatectomy surgery, erectile function it can be subject to compromise due to alterations to the nerves involved in erection. Side effects such as antegrade and retrograde ejaculation, shortening of the penis length and climacturia can have a negative influence on the sexual health of the patient.
In today’s society, social scripts define the functioning of male sexuality as active, marked by a high sexual desire, aimed at performance, thus attributing a dominant role to erection. In such a scenario, it would appear that sexual difficulties following radical prostatectomy may represent a powerful cause of discomfort for humans. The team work function is extremely important in which the team works alongside surgeons, urologists and oncologists psycho-sexologist to support the person and the couple in the reorganization of intimacy, respecting the times of recovery and for the return of sexual well-being.
From the latest surveys in the literature, it is clear that prostate cancer, observed more frequently in men over 65, is the second most common form of cancer in the world and currently the third leading cause of cancer death in men. Very often its course is asymptomatic, however there are several signs experienced by patients: among the most frequent are the difficulty in urinating and nocturia (urinary urinary stimulus at night). It is good to consider that some hints they can be associated with other prostatic difficulties, so it is important to contact your doctor / urologist to verify the causes.
Medicine has made enormous strides in diagnosis and treatment: this possibility allows you to recognize patients based on risk and, consequently, offer them specific protections. However, the continuous preventive action towards one’s health entails an increase in the effectiveness of these treatments.
Some of the initiatives of the organization “with the mustache” therefore propose to deepen information knowledge on a global scale through research, constantly and actively verify the tools available to improve the quality of life of men, from diagnosis to treatment, from healing to recovery of one’s own well-being of life. Underlying this, it turns out the approach to prevention is essential; normalizing specialist visits is one of the objectives set by world public health. Prevention is thinking about the value of one’s life.
We thank Dr. Ilaria Lenoci for her collaboration