Love counselling for prostate sufferers

Men who have undergone prostate cancer surgery are to be offered love advice sessions with their partners as part of a study by Edinburgh University.

Couples will be invited to attend six sessions of support with a relationship counsellor and encouraged to talk openly about intimacy worries.

The trial, funded by charity Prostate Cancer UK, will take place in the Capital. It will compare the impact of receiving relationship support with routine hospital follow-up appointments for men after prostate cancer surgery.

Dr Liz Forbat, reader and co-director of the Cancer Care Research Centre at the university, is leading the study. She said: “After a man has undergone surgery it can make intimacy difficult and this is an extremely sensitive subject for which couples do not receive adequate support. The study will test an intervention to see if we can support couples better in this area of their relationship.

“This will give couples space to talk about the impact of the disease and discuss their concerns openly in a supportive environment.”