MEN who have undergone prostate cancer surgery are to be offered love advice sessions with their partners as part of a study by a top university.
Following operations, couples will be invited to attend six sessions with a counsellor where they will be encouraged to talk about intimacy worries.
The trial, funded by charity Prostate Cancer UK, will take place in Edinburgh. It will compare the impact of receiving relationship support with usual care (routine hospital follow-up appointments) for men after prostate cancer surgery.
Dr Liz Forbat, reader and co-director of the Cancer Care Research Centre at Stirling University, is leading the study. She said: "After a man has undergone surgery it can make intimacy difficult and this is an extremely sensitive subject for which couples do not receive adequate support.
"The study will therefore test an intervention to see if we can support couples better in this area of their relationship."
Dr Rachel Macdonald, research manager at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and is predicted to be the most common cancer overall by 2030. It is therefore incredibly important we do all we can to ensure all men affected by the disease and their partners get the care and support they need."
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