And they may present a challenge to medical professionals more attuned to the relationship needs of straight men. The obstacles can be physical and emotional, and may be reflected in patients’ relationships with their partners. But researchers are finding that those changes may echo through the lives of gay and bisexual men in unexpected, and sometimes more difficult, ways. Post-treatment symptoms are similar for all prostate cancer patients, including urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, diminished libido and loss of ejaculate. Curtin, 66, diagnosis and surgery were only the beginning of a “clinical and psychological and emotional adventure” - one he felt that many urologists were not equipped to handle, because he was gay and the majority of doctors and their patients were not. The surgery went well, and, two years later, there is no indication that the cancer has returned. A biopsy confirmed the news, and doctors told him that surgery to remove his prostate was the best option.
CHICAGO - Matthew Curtin learned he had prostate cancer after a routine physical examination in October 2019, when test results indicated there was a problem.
