Tackling taboos in prostate cancer: Sex in the doctor’s office podcast

People living with prostate cancer in the Netherlands told us they needed more support around intimacy and sexual health due to the impact that their treatment can have on these. A LinkedIn poll also identified that 95% of caregivers of people living with prostate cancer believed sexual function needed to be discussed more, while 87% believed a podcast would be helpful.

In light of these insights, we collaborated with the Dutch prostate cancer patient organization, Prostaatkanker Stichting, to co-create informative content for people living with prostate cancer, in order to raise awareness of the sexuality issues they may experience and potential solutions for them. The content includes a series of animations on the sexuality issues associated with prostate cancer, such as erectile dysfunction, and therapies available to treat them, as well as a new podcast called ‘Sex in the doctor’s office’, featuring conversations between patients, urologists, and sexologists.

As well as raising awareness, the content is also making sexuality issues in prostate cancer less of a taboo so that people living with the condition can feel more comfortable discussing them with their doctors, which will lead to enhanced care and quality of life. This impact is also bringing value to healthcare professionals:

A urologist said, “This is a great initiative, there is currently too little attention for sexuality issues in prostate cancer patients.”

Prostaatkanker Stichting was instrumental in helping us to recruit people living with prostate cancer to feature in the podcast and to ensure the final content would resonate with them.

Kees van de Berg, Chairman of Prostaatkanker Stichting said, “Many prostate cancer patients are experiencing sexuality issues following their treatment. The Prostaatkanker Stichting (Dutch prostate cancer society) believes the discussion of this topic, and the breaking of the taboo around it, is of utmost importance. This is why we fully support this sexuality project of IPSEN. We are very happy that we have been able to make an important contribution from the patient perspective.”

The podcast is also being hosted on their website.