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Treatment Choices for Men With Early-Stage Prostate Cancer
    Posted: 02/14/2006
6. How will this treatment affect my ability to have sex, an erection for sex, or get a woman pregnant?

Watchful Waiting

It should not affect your sex life.

Surgery

Having the prostate removed can affect getting erections. Talk with your doctor about whether nerve-sparing surgery can be used to allow the nerves that control erections to be kept. Medications and devices can help with impotence in many men.

After surgery, the orgasm may be "dry," meaning no ejaculation. If you are interested in having children, you will need to preserve your sperm (sperm banking) before surgery (see the Resources 1 section for a list of resources for more information).

Radiation Therapy

There is less risk of impotence with radiation therapy, but over time it may become a problem. Your age and overall health can affect impotence.

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Glossary Terms

sperm banking (spurm...)
Freezing sperm for use in the future. This procedure can allow men to father children after loss of fertility.


Table of Links

1http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/prostate-cancer-treatment-choices/page17
2http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/prostate-cancer-treatment-choices/page9
3http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/prostate-cancer-treatment-choices/page4
4http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/prostate-cancer-treatment-choices/page11