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accessHealthNews.net
June 2025
Volume 11 | Issue No. 97
Mary Beth Taranow, a retired operating room nurse
Prostate cancer is a deeply personal
diagnosis—but its reach extends far
beyond the person receiving it. For
partners, it often begins with a sudden,
overwhelming shift: roles change,
communication falters, and the future
becomes something unrecognizable.
Whether it's a slow-building fear during the
waiting period for test results, or the quiet
heartbreak of navigating intimacy after
surgery, partners carry an invisible burden
that rarely gets named.
"I had no idea how much this would
affect me, too," said Lisa Matthews, who
became her husband's caregiver after
he was diagnosed with stage 4A prostate
cancer. "It changes everything."
Roughly one in eight men will be
diagnosed with prostate cancer in their
lifetime, but most resources focus solely
on treatment—not the emotional toll
that diagnosis takes on a relationship.
This article brings together real stories,
evidence-based guidance, and honest
conversations about what it means to
support someone you love through a life-
altering disease.
Because when your partner is diagnosed
with prostate cancer—it becomes your
diagnosis, too.
Caregiving Begins Before the Treatment
Plan Does
Matthews didn't expect to become her
husband's caregiver in her early 50s.
But when Bruce was diagnosed with
stage 4A prostate cancer, she found
herself in unfamiliar territory—managing
medications, tracking appointments, and
trying to hold space for both of their fears.
READ MORE
"We have to do a better job reaching men who don't have
regular access to screening or who are hesitant to engage with
the health care system."
- Kelvin Moses, M.D., Ph.D., a urologic oncologist and health
disparities researcher at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
