23 May 2018

Funded Viagra needed for prostate cancer patients

From Nine To Noon, 9:09 am on 23 May 2018

The cost of over the counter Viagra is way too high for men recovering from prostate cancer, a foundation says. 

A pack of 4 Viagra tablets

Photo: GFDL

The Prostate Cancer Foundation and urologists are applying to the drug-buying agency Pharmac to have the little blue pills - or an equivalent - funded.

Graeme Woodside said men should be taking the pills immediately after surgery in order to help them recover faster, but the price is stopping this happening for some. 

"The Viagra or the generic equivalents, they range from $38 to $40 for a pack of four. There was one pharmacy in fact had Cialis which is another version of it and they were $216 for a pack of eight so it was $27 a pill," Mr Woodside said.

"We think that's just way over the top."

He said a recent study showed taking the pills straight after surgery increased recovery rates. 

"After 12 months, 41 percent of those who had immediate starts on the blue pills had recovered fully.

"Whereas those who started three months after they'd had the catheter removed - in other words a delayed start - only 17 percent of those people recovered within 12 months."

Mr Woodside said being able to get an erection was important not just physically, but emotionally for men. 

"Some weeks or months down the tracks they begin to realise that their ability to have [an] erection is gone and that it's going to impact on the quality of their relationship and intimacy with their partner.

"For men, manliness is often linked to potency so this is a real issue for them to deal with, particularly for men in their 40s, 50s and 60s who tend to have an active sex life."

Tauranga urologist Jim Duthie said it was comparable to a woman getting reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy.

"It doesn't make a difference for the cancer but it does make a difference for the patient."

He said for some men the reality was erectile dysfunction medication was an "unnecessary luxury".

"It's not as important as paying the power bill."

He hoped the funding would be approved.

"There's no argument that [pills] work, it's now just a matter of convincing Pharmac that these guys are worth it."