Gay and bisexual men with prostate cancer have unique needs

Gay and bisexual men with prostate cancer represent a patient population with unique needs related to their health before a cancer diagnosis, quality of life and outcomes after treatment, an expert said.

Dr. Badrinath R. Konety, Elizabeth and Eugene Leonard Chair, president of Allina Health Cancer Institute and chief academic officer of Allina Health System in Minneapolis, Minnesota, told CURE® that bisexual and gay men are an often-understudied patient population because they don’t typically declare their sexual orientation to their health care providers. In addition, he said that health care systems are not set up to ask patients for this information, although more systems are integrating these types of questions.

Even if a health care system asks patients for their sexual orientation, findings from a study that Konety and his colleagues conducted demonstrated that men may be hesitant to share this information with their doctors.

Read the full story online at www.curetoday.com.