Boston Scientific has launched a docuseries campaign to remove the stigma of male incontinence. Across the videos, the campaign tells the stories of how incontinence upended the lives of three men—and how getting treated radically and rapidly improved their conditions.
The company acquired products for treating male incontinence in 2015 as part of its $1.6 billion buyout of Endo International’s men's health and prostate health units. Incontinence is big business—Boston Scientific valued (PDF) the prosthetic urology and pelvic floor markets at a combined $1.1 billion last year—but could be bigger if more men were aware of the options and willing to get help.
Boston Scientific’s “DRY: The Journey to Treat Male Incontinence” docuseries tells the stories of three men who experienced and overcame incontinence. All three men developed incontinence after being treated for prostate cancer. Roberto described how he felt after his prostatectomy.
“Being inccontinent was degrading, humiliating, discouraging, depressing,” Roberto said. “I didn't want to be there and I just felt there's no way I'm going to get out of this. It's like I'm just going to have to accept I'm like this ... the rest of my life. It's a place that you feel alone.”
In the other videos, Randy and Bob tell similar stories of how incontinence negatively affected their lives and made it harder for them to do the things they enjoy. All three videos have the same structure, with the men setting out how they came to be incontinent, how the condition affected their lives and mental health and what enabled them to regain control.
It took a long time for the men to find the help they needed. Bob said he was incontinent for at least a year, and, at its worst, he was “probably damp constantly.” Some men have the condition for longer still, with a urologist who speaks in one of the videos saying most people who see him “have been leaking for years” and had never been told that treatment options are available.
The videos discuss treatment options that range from pelvic floor exercises to male slings and artificial urinary sphincters, two products that Boston Scientific sells. All three men received artificial urinary sphincters. Randy’s description of what happened once the device was activated is representative of the rapid impact the treatment had on the men.
“I was dry right away, immediately, from the moment we activated to when I got home and since. No longer do I have to worry about ... do I have enough pads on, do I have the clamp on if I'm at work or in a meeting situation,” Randy said. “It's back to what I would describe as normal, pre-prostate cancer procedures. It's almost like life was on pause and now I can just hit the play button again.”