Recently, an international panel of experts convened to develop a set of guidelines for sexual health care for patients with prostate cancer and their partners. The panelists used available evidence and their own expertise to develop these guidelines, accounting for patients’ unique cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds as well as their gender identities and sexual orientations.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of red blood cell disorders that cause the red blood cells to break down and morph into a “sickle” or “C” shape. Healthy red blood cells are round and contain a protein called hemoglobin that carries oxygen. In this way, red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that is triggered by a traumatic event or series of events such as an accident, a natural disaster, war/combat, assault, or abuse. It can involve nightmares or flashbacks related to the trauma, heightened reactions to external stimuli, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms that can negatively affect a person’s life.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic condition that affects the lungs and airways. It can cause difficulty breathing, coughing, fatigue, weakness, and energy loss. This condition can be associated with anxiety and depression, and since the majority of COPD patients are former or current smokers, sometimes they experience feelings of guilt about their smoking.

A radical prostatectomy is a treatment for prostate cancer. It is the surgical removal of the prostate and some of the tissues around it such as the seminal vesicles and sometimes nearby lymph nodes. Removing the prostate, which is the gland that is responsible for making some of the fluid in semen, can have a big impact on a man’s erectile function.

When individuals have cancer early in life (i.e., before the age of 18), it can affect their development throughout life. In particular, childhood cancer may impact one’s psychosexual development as a young adult. This could be the result of physical changes to the body caused by the cancer or its treatments, concerns about body image, insecurities, and/or missed opportunities to spend time with peers.

Lichen sclerosus is a medical condition that causes itchy white patches of skin, normally in the genital and anal areas of the body. An autoimmune disorder, lichen sclerosus generally affects girls who have not yet gotten their periods or postmenopausal women. It can, however, affect women of all ages.

The telemedicine industry has seen significant growth over the last several years, perhaps in part due to the social distancing measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the trend toward virtual health care visits and having medications and supplies shipped directly to the patient’s home has been evident since even before the pandemic.

Endometriosis is a chronic condition that can cause pelvic pain, heavy menstrual periods, painful sex, and sometimes infertility in women. It occurs when tissues that behave like the tissues that line the uterus begin to grow outside of the uterus. When this tissue thickens and breaks down throughout the course of a woman’s menstrual cycle, it is unable to exit the body, so it remains trapped inside, resulting in the symptoms mentioned above.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person’s sexual health is not just about the absence of disease or sexual dysfunction. It is also about their physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing in relation to sexuality.

Spina bifida is a birth defect that affects the spine and spinal cord. It occurs when the neural tube, or the part of the embryo that will eventually become the baby’s brain, spinal cord, and the protective tissues around them, does not develop correctly. Instead of forming and closing early in the pregnancy, a portion of the neural tube in babies with spina bifida does not close or develop completely, resulting in issues with the spinal cord and spine.

Researchers frequently use Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs) to assess patients’ symptoms, functioning, and quality of life after they overcome a disease and/or receive medical treatment. PROMs are important because they allow patients to relay their own feelings and experiences regarding a disease or treatment, and they are not based solely on a provider’s examination.