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Psychosexual health in gynecologic cancer
Author(s) -
Boa Rosalind,
Grénman Seija
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1002/ijgo.12623
Subject(s) - psychosexual development , reproductive health , quality of life (healthcare) , medicine , cervical cancer , cancer , vagina , vulvar cancer , population , sexual life , gynecology , cervix , disease , psychology , surgery , developmental psychology , nursing , environmental health
More people are living with the long‐term effects of cancer owing to improvements in cancer treatments and an aging population. Many people diagnosed with cancer report a negative impact on sexual identity, sexual functioning, and their sexual relationship. Gynecologic cancer survivors are often the most severely affected. These cancers involve cancers of the ovaries, uterus, cervix, vagina, and vulva. The impact of these cancers on sexual health results not only from the disease process itself, but may also be due to the necessary treatments required. These can have a profound impact on psychological, physiological, and social well‐being both in the short and long term, which may result in negative impact on the quality of life of the patient as well as her partner. Although most patients express that they would like to be more informed about sexual health and would like to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with their therapeutic team, sexual health is often not discussed with the patient.