Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common type of male-specific cancer in North American men, and many men choose radical prostatectomy (RP) to remove their cancer. Although penile length shortening (PLS) occurs in a reported 68% to 71% of men undergoing RP, little is known about it. In an electronic journal search, only 9 medical articles (with no nursing publications) were published between 1980 and 2007.
Purpose: To provide an account of patients' perceptions and responses to living with PLS after RP.
Methods and sample: Semi-structured interviews and a grounded theory approach were used to discover the basic social processes regarding men's perceptions of a shortened penis and overall sense of self. A total of six men who underwent RP and consequently noticed PLS were recruited from a local PC support group for semi-structured interviews lasting between 40-60 min.
Results: Based on subjects' own definitions of masculinity, no significant changes in the constructs of masculinity and overall self-image perception were reported.
Conclusions: Men undergoing RP may not be fully aware that PLS is a possible consequence related to treatment. In spite of this, subjects were not negatively affected by its occurrence.
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