SEXUAL HEALTH IN CANCER PATIENTS: A SURVEY AND A PILOT STUDY OF PSYCHOSEXUAL THERAPY AS A COMPLEMENTARY NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT

16 Oct 2024

10:15 - 11:30

SEXUAL HEALTH IN CANCER PATIENTS: A SURVEY AND A PILOT STUDY OF PSYCHOSEXUAL THERAPY AS A COMPLEMENTARY NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT

BACKGROUND: Sexual health, a vital aspect of the overall human health and a critical component of quality of life, can be negatively affected by cancer and cancer treatments. Although prevalence rates of sexual difficulties vary depending on several factors including primary diagnosis, treatment modality and methods of assessment, estimates rates are reported to range from 40% to 100%. Despite the abundant literature on sexuality and intimacy, communication about sexual health is often absent or inadequate between patients and health care providers. In this context, more research is needed to understand patients’ priorities and needs for information about sexuality. The purpose of this study was to assess the main difficulties faced by patients in their sexual life and to evaluate patient’s satisfaction after having followed sessions of psychosexual therapy proposed at Rafaël Institute, France.
METHODS: The survey was conducted using questionnaires developed specifically for this study. All questions were coded through a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Responses to each question were then analyzed with higher mean scores (>4) indicating main difficulties faced by patients in their sexual life. Patients also expressed their positive or negative state of agreement regarding questions evaluating their satisfaction after following a program of psychosexual therapy.
RESULTS: 198 patients participated in this survey after provided oral consent. Median age was 54 years old (24-75) and the majority of patients were women (158; 79.7%). The main cancer was breast (67.5%) following by prostate (10.2%), ORL (4.5%) and colon (4.5%). Other types (13.4%) included testicular, cervix, lung and kidney. Marital status was “living together” for 80% of responders and 20% were single. Loss of desire for sexual activities (mean score 5.48), decrease in libido (5.46), fatigue (5.31) and inability to feel pleasure (4.20) were major difficulties reported by patients. Women mainly reported vaginal dryness (5.13) as a frequent problem in their intimate lives while men indicated erectile dysfunction (5.32). Patients who participated in the psychosexual therapy were globally satisfied with this approach since 8 scores out of 10 questions about the program were >4.
CONCLUSION: Sexual problems were common reported by patients. Patients found the psychosexual program intervention useful in improving their sexual lives and realized the importance of sexuality on quality of life.