It s not like you say, Hey Joe, I m having erectile dysfunction, how about you?

In the setting of prostate cancer, up to 60 percent of men after prostate cancer surgery may have urinary incontinence and erectile disfunction.

In other words, the diseases that cause nine tenths of what the World Health Organization refers to as the global burden of disease are getting only one tenth of the world s medical research effort. As a result, millions of people die every year from diseases for which no new drugs are in the pipeline, while drug companies pour billions into developing cures for erectile dysfunction and baldness.

Moreover, cancer treatment often carries serious side effects including urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and, in those who undergo radiation, inflammation of the lower rectum or bladder, as well as underreported effects like fecal incontinence that can negatively affect patients quality of life. Given that many patients diagnosed with prostate cancer as a result of the PSA test would never suffer any symptoms, such consequences are difficult to justify.