Men with prostate cancer want access to female doctors

MalecareSep 25 2019

Malecare, America’s largest men’s cancer support network, this week announced the world’s first prostate cancer patient conference to feature an all-female faculty featuring twelve of the U.S.A.’s top prostate cancer clinicians. The Prostate Cancer Patient Conference is a day-long event taking place in New York City on October 5^th.

Less than 1% of all urologists are women who treat prostate cancer. Sexism in cancer care is a barrier for patients seeking optimal care. Malecare is trying to reduce this disparity, starting with this groundbreaking conference. Female doctors tend to listen more attentively to their male patients, according to men in our support groups. It’s possible that female doctors feel less competitive and more compassionate towards men suffering the side effects of prostate cancer treatment."

Darryl Mitteldorf, LCSW, Executive Director of Malecare

From the patient side, men are led to believe that only male doctors can understand what it’s like to have prostate cancer. However, women are more likely to empathize with the side effects of prostate cancer treatment, such as hormonal changes and challenges to their sexuality from surgery and radiation.

Several hundred men diagnosed with prostate cancer are expected to attend. They’ll hear thirteen 25-minute presentations and four panels on topics such as novel treatments for advanced-stage prostate cancer, early-stage prostate cancer, life without testosterone, erectile dysfunction, and survival for spouses and partners. Attendees are free to ask questions, speak with the physicians, discuss upcoming treatments, and learn more about their conditions.

Millions of men have prostate cancer, and all of them want to live longer and happier lives. All of these men suffer if their doctor choices are limited to just men."

Darryl Mitteldorf

The Prostate Patient Care Conference will take place at 237 Park Avenue in New York City. Faculty includes doctors from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and the University of Washington Medical Center. Sign up to attend the conference at https://malecare.org/.

Malecare provides support groups and informational events where patients can learn the truth from patient-reported outcomes and evidence-based studies in easy to understand talks.