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MEDIA ALERT

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE USE

​

Kiwi prostate cancer survivors wrestling with ED

following treatment: new findings​​

PCFNZ to launch ‘Life After Treatment’ educational roadshow supporting
Aotearoa New Zealand’s prostate cancer community

​

Kiwis treated for our nation’s most commonly diagnosed male

cancer – prostate cancer1, 2 – report experiencing the confidence-

robbing,3 stigmatised treatment side-effect, erectile dysfunction

(ED),4 according to new Prostate Cancer Foundation New Zealand

(PCFNZ) survey findings set for release on Tuesday, November 5,

2024.5 

 

The release of PCFNZ’s survey findings will coincide with the first

of six, free, PCFNZ public information evenings for prostate cancer

survivors, and their families, kicking off in Tauranga.

 

Featuring leading Urologists and health professional speakers,

the PCFNZ ‘Prostate Cancer – Life After Treatment’ roadshow will tour Tauranga, Palmerston North, Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington between November 5 – 14, 2024. Running between 7-8pm, each event will canvass the potential side-effects of prostate cancer treatment, and treatment options available to help manage, and aid recovery.

 

For the more than 4,000 NZ men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, treatment can disrupt urinary, bowel, and sexual function.6-8

 

“Our survey aimed to glean insights from patients treated for prostate cancer, on the physical, mental, emotional and relationship challenges they have faced,” said PCFNZ Chief Executive Officer, Peter Dickens.

 

“Numerous prostate cancer survivors experience distressing sexual and urinary difficulties, including erectile dysfunction (ED) and urinary incontinence (UI), following surgery, which compromise their mental health and wellbeing, and intimate relationships.

 

“We are therefore encouraging men and their families nation-wide to attend our ‘Prostate Cancer – Life After Treatment’ public information evenings, to learn about, and discuss management and treatment options with leading experts in the field,” Mr Dickens said.

 

To attend a PCFNZ ‘Prostate Cancer – Life After Treatment’ event in your area, register here.

 

To learn more about the new prostate cancer survey findings, and potential consequences of prostate cancer treatment, tee up an interview with a spokesperson overleaf.

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AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

EXPERTS

Mr Giovanni Losco

Urologist and Clinical Director of Urology, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury; and Clinical Senior Lecturer,

University of Otago, CHRISTCHURCH

Mr Jim Duthie

Urological Surgeon, Promed House, Tauranga and Wakefield Hospital, CHRISTCHURCH

Mr André Westenberg

Consultant Urologist, Bay Urology, Grace Hospital, Tauranga Hospital, TAURANGA

​Consultant Urologist and Paediatric Urologist, Bay Urology, Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital, Tauranga Public and Grace Hospitals, TAURANGA

Mr Liam Wilson

Dr Daniel Marshall

Consultant Urological Surgeon, and Urology Training Supervisor,

Palmerston North Hospital and Urological Surgeon, Crest Specialist Centre, PALMERSTON NORTH

Mr John Tuckey

Specialist Urologist, Auckland Spinal Unit, Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane, Ascot Central, AUCKLAND

Mr Alastair Hepburn

Consultant Urologist, Dunedin Public Hospital, and Visiting Consultant, Mercy Hospital, TAURANGA

Nathan Scott

Pelvic Health Physiotherapist and owner, CoreGood Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Clinics, PALMERSTON NORTH

Prof Helen O'Connell AO

Urological Surgeon, and President, Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ)

PATIENT ADVOCACY REPRESENTATIVES

Peter Dickens

CEO, Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand (PCFNZ), AUCKLAND 

Vivian Hahipene

Board member and ethnicity lead, PCFNZ; Chair of Consumer Reference Group, Cancer Control Agency, and Health Committee Member, New Zealand Ministry of Health, TE TEKO

NEW ZEALANDERS AFFECTED BY ED/ UI

Mike, 73

Semi-retiree, father and grandfather who developed prostate cancer, BAY OF PLENTY

Cathy, 65

Nurse, mother-to-two and wife to prostate cancer survivor living with erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence,

PALMERSTON NORTH

About the survey

PCFNZ conducted an online anonymous survey open to the public that attracted responses from
123 New Zealand men aged 45+ years between October 8 – 21, 2024. The ‘Prostate Cancer – Life After Treatment’ survey strove to glean insights from prostate cancer survivors about their experience of ED and UI following prostate cancer treatment.

​

References

  1. Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. Prostate Cancer, what is it? [Available from: https://prostate.org.nz/prostate-cancer].

  2. Prostate Cancer Outcome Registry of Australia and New Zealand. What is PCOR-ANZ?  [Available from: https://prostatecancerregistry.org/].

  3. Ian A R Smith NM, Prem Rashid. Erectile dysfunction – when tablets don’t work. Australian Journal for General Practitioners. 2012;39:301-5.

  4. Al-Shaiji T. Breaking the Ice of Erectile Dysfunction Taboo: A Focus on Clinician-Patient Communication. Journal of Patient Experience. 2022;9.

  5. Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. Prostate Cancer – Life After Treatment survey. 2024.

  6. Prostate Cancer Foundation. Prostate Cancer Side Effects [Available from: https://www.pcf.org/about-prostate-cancer/prostate-cancer-side-effects/].

  7. Centre for Health Outcomes Measures New Zealand. New Zealand Prostate Cancer Outcome Registry  [Available from: https://www.chomnz.org.nz/pcor-nz-registry#:~:text=Cancer%20Outcome%20Registry-,R%C4%81rangi%20Hua%20Mate%20Pukupuku%20Repe%20T%C4%81tea%20o%20Aotearoa,male%20cancer%20in%20New%20Zealand].

  8. National Institutes of Health. Comparing side effects after prostate cancer treatment [Available from: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/comparing-side-effects-after-prostate-cancer-treatment].

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