Curative testis cancer therapy: psychosocial sequelae.

We examined the long-term impact of advanced testis cancer and its curative therapies on emotional states and outlook on life, employment, intimate relationships, and sexual function. The sample consisted of 74 nonseminomatous and seminomatous tumor patients who had completed treatment two to ten years ago. The majority of men felt that surviving the debilitating treatment(s) was both an accomplishment and worthwhile trade-off. Neither the rate of unemployment (7%) nor divorce (10%) was remarkable. The most critical outcome was in the area of sexual functioning. One fourth to one half of the men reported some type of sexual impairment. Multiple regression results indicate that ejaculatory dysfunction, a side effect of the retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, is significantly associated with distress about both infertility and sexual impairment. Men with sexual impairment report more psychological symptoms, strained intimate relationships, and negative changes in other areas of life functioning. These data, while not definitive, suggest that there are delayed effects and that the subgroup of men, who are least likely to disclose these problems to physicians, are at greater risk for the deleterious outcomes.