Patient trade-off

One option is to trade off an intact sexual function for the possibility of a prolonged life expectancy by not having curative treatment. A Swedish study found that the willingness to do this kind of trade-off varied considerably among the men included in the study.[1] While six out of ten were willing to consider a trade-off between life expectancy and intact sexual function, given the present knowledge of treatment benefits for clinically localized prostate cancer, four out of ten stated that they would under all circumstances choose treatment irrespective of the risk for waning sexual function. Access to valid empirical information is crucial for such decision making. Key factors here are an individual's feeling towards the illness, their emotional values and religious beliefs.

A substantial proportion of patients and physicians, experience stress in judging the trade-off between different treatment options and treatment side-effects which adds to the stress of cancer diagnosed, a situation made worse in that eight out of ten prostate cancer patients have no one to confide in except their spouse and one out of five live in total emotional isolation.[3]