Guest Keynote Speaker
Professor Wassersug's research focuses on developing
ways to help patients recognize and overcome the side effects of prostate
cancer (PCa) treatments. His primary attention is on androgen deprivation
therapy (ADT), the common treatment for advanced prostate cancer in both Canada
and Australia. ADT has been increasingly shown to have not only debilitating
physical side effects, but also psychosocial consequences. ADT causes both
erectile dysfunction and reduced libido in PCa patients, which can alter the
dynamics between patients and their partners. As such, ADT can distress
partners even more than the patients themselves. Professor
Wassersug studies ways to help PCa couples maintain both sexual and
non-sexual intimacy in the face of ADT.
Current areas of
collaboration: Helping
prostate cancer patients and their partners recognize, adapt to, and overcome
the side effects of ADT; sexual recovery after prostate cancer treatment;
impact of prostate cancer treatments on male gender identity and performance;
the psychological consequences of chemical and surgical castration.