Abstract

INTRODUCTION

There is growing evidence suggesting that women treated for breast cancer with surgery and chemotherapy commonly experience disturbances in sexual functioning. As part of the present study, we aimed to investigate quality of life (QoL) and sexual satisfaction levels, as well as the effects of chemotherapy upon the sexual satisfaction of Turkish breast cancer patients and their partners.

METHODS

We collected data were from thirty-two breast cancer patients and their partners. We used three forms: one is covering information about socio-demographic characteristics of the patients, EORTC-QoL-C30 and the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS).

RESULTS

A comparison of the pre-treatment and post-treatment sexual satisfaction of breast cancer patients with respect to GRISS showed statistically significant subscores of frequency, avoidance, touch and anorgasmia (p: <0.0001, <0.0001, 0.007 and 0.001 respectively). In contrast, only the frequency parameter was significantly high in their partners (p: 0.001). Also, we found statistically significant differences in our patients in terms of emotional functioning, social functioning, and cognitive functioning (p: 0.023, 0.022 and 0.035, respectively).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

We found that chemotherapy reduced sexual satisfaction rates without lowering overall quality of life scores. While assessing patients’ quality of life, one should pay sufficient attention to the possibility that their sexual satisfaction may get worse. It is of crucial importance for all the oncology professionals to encourage open dialogue with their patients in addition to making appropriate referrals; and they should be monitored before, during, and after anticancer treatment to minimize the deleterious effects of chemotherapy and improve their quality of life.