Attention Cancer Survivors: Testosterone Deficiency May Affect Male’s Quality Of Life

A prolonged treatment of cancer involving chemotherapy and radiation affects the body functioning in many ways.  Beating the cancer along with psychological distress also involves a struggle to cope with the affects on hormone levels.

Sex hormones called testosterone are disturbed after the treatment of cancer. As sexual health and satisfaction guarantees a healthy life and the cancer survivors with low testosterone levels have to face impaired quality of life. The ratio of male cancer survivors with affected testosterone level rages up to 15%. Male cancer survivors feel reduced energy level, reduced sexual desire and reduced rate of arousal.

On one end researches are still being carried out to find a clear connection between cancer treatment and the incompetency of gonads; a condition called Hypogonadism. At the other end study is on its way to determine whether testosterone replacement therapy is helpful in improving the quality of life.  Feeling low after having the treatment of cancer was previously thought to be associated with psychological distress, because of the feeling of having fatal disease or the long treatment procedure, but now it is discovered that hormonal imbalance may be the underlying cause of the lowered energy level.

Not all the male cancer survivors can benefit from the testosterone therapy so the interventional trials should be made to determine who can be blessed by this treatment.  Extensive care should be taken while selecting the patients for whom the procedure would be the safe option.