016 Perspectives of Partners on Addressing Unmet Sexual Needs Following Prostate Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Survivors of prostate cancer have reported physical and psychosocial sexual changes resulting from treatment of the disease that may challenge sexual recovery. Partners of prostate cancer patients experience sexual losses after patient treatment, yet their needs are not well understood and most resources do not incorporate partner priorities. Given that sexual intimacy requires mutuality, addressing unmet needs for partners is a key tenet in fostering sexual recovery for couples navigating the impact of prostate cancer treatment. The objective was to perform a qualitative study of partner focused sexual health-related themes that are relevant for couples' sexual recovery following prostate cancer therapy. We performed a qualitative study of posts to the Inspire Us TOO Prostate Cancer online support and discussion community, which connects > 31,000 prostate cancer patients, family members, and caregivers. Text from anonymized, public available comments were reviewed from the prostate c