Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 30:79–93, 2004 Copyright © 2004 Brunner-Routledge ISSN: 0092-623X print DOI: 10.1080/00926230490258884 Sexuality and Health-Related Quality of Life After Prostate Cancer in African-American and White Men Treated for Localized Disease ROSELL JENKINS, LESLIE R. SCHOVER, RACHEL T. FOULADI, CARLA WARNEKE, and LEAH NEESE The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA ERIC A. KLEIN, CRAIG ZIPPE, and PATRICK KUPELIAN The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA The purpose of this study was to examine differences in sexual atti- tudes and quality of life of White and African-American men who have undergone radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy for lo- calized prostate cancer. Respondents included 1,112 White and 118 African-American men. Response rates differed by race, with 51% of White men and 28% of African-American men returning the ques- tionnaire assessing demographics, medical history, sexual func- tioning, attitudes about seeking help for sexual problems, sexual self-schema, and health-related quality of life. African Americans were more likely than Whites to have undergone radiation ther- apy (p < .0001) and were more likely to indicate that a desire to maintain sexual functioning influenced their treatment choice (p < .0001). African-American men also had more positive atti- tudes than did White men toward seeking help for sexual problems and were more likely to report seeking past help and intending to seek future help. African-American men reported more prob- lems with sexual desire (p = .0003), although their sexual function scores did not differ significantly from those of Whites. African- American men may be more at risk for distress when prostate cancer treatment causes sexual dysfunction. This research was supported in full by a grant from the American Cancer Society, Help- Seeking for Sexual Problems after Prostate Cancer, TPRB-99-274-01-PBP, Leslie R. Schover, Ph.D., principal investigator. Address correspondence to Rosell Jenkins, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Behavioral Science, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., 243 Houston, TX 77030- 4009. E-mail: rljeffrie@mdanderson.org 79