New hope for better recovery in treatment of men’s disease

Men being treated for prostate cancer are looking towards a new national register aimed at helping improve their mental and physical recovery.

The register will provide a detailed insight into how men are being treated for the disease, and is regarded as the largest registry in the world. It will monitor not just clinical successes, but how well men cope emotionally after being treated for the illness.

The registry spans across Australia and New Zealand, with Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria already compiling the data.

Dr David Pryor told the ABC many men who go through prostate cancer treatment often suffer side-effects that go on ti impact their everyday lives.

He says the registry would ensure these men are being contacted annually following their treatment to discuss their experiences.

“Have they got any ongoing anxiety or depression from the diagnosis, so their mental wellbeing, their sexual function and their interaction with partners, their bladder function, their bowel function, all those sorts of things,” Dr Pryor says.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in Australia.

Approximately 120,000 men are living with the disease and around 20,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.

Have you been affected by prostate cancer? What do you think of a register aimed at ensuring support is given to those suffering the disease?