Side effects ‘trade off’ in cancer men
Prof Ahmed MEN with prostate cancer would rather not live as long than have treatments with side effects such as incontinence and impotence, a study reveals.
A team at Imperial College London quizzed 634 men with the common cancer, which can be treated with surgery or radiotherapy – both of which can have the side effects.
Professor Hashim Ahmed found that while survival was the men’s most important factor, the patients would trade it off a little for fewer side effects.
He said: “Many men think about the balance between the quantity and the quality of life.”
He called for less invasive treatments to be tried.