Overcoming Reproductive and Psychological Concerns of Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: After developing breast cancer, women experience changes in their sexuality, femininity, and fertility. These changes lead to poor mental health and increased psychological stress. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of Good Enough Sex (GES)-based, couple-centered group counseling on reproductive and sexual concerns of breast cancer survivors.
 Materials and methods: This was a quantitative randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) conducted at Omid Hospital, West Azerbaijan, Urmia, Iran from March 2018 to October 2020. After completing the informed consent forms, 100 women were assigned to the intervention and control groups (50 individuals per group) using a randomized block design. The intervention included four 90-120-minute sexual counseling sessions with 2 and 3 month follow-ups. The data were collected using the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, the Persian version of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Reproductive Concerns after Cancer (RCAC) scale, and Female Sexual Function Index adaptation for Breast Cancer patients (FSFI-BC). Data were collected, from control and intervention groups, at three intervals; before, besides two months and three months post intervention, then were analyzed in SPSS 20 using descriptive and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.
 Results: Significant reduction in the mean score of DASS-21, RCAC and improvement of FSFI-BC is reported between the intervention and control groups in favor of intervention group (P<0.001). However, no significant differences are observed within intervention group over two- and three-months post intervention (P > 0.05).
 Conclusion: The designed Good Enough Sex (GES)-based, couple-centered group counseling effectively reduced reproductive and sexual concerns of females’ breast cancer survivors. Therefore, these training and counseling programs can be organized by relevant service centers to promote the reproductive health of women with breast cancer.

Factors associated with fertility intention among women with systemic lupus erythematosus in China: A cross‐sectional study

“…Vu et al 36 concluded that we should encourage women to talk about their fertility problems thus may reduce women's reproductive concerns. Kufel-Grabowska et al 37 found that the most appropriate time to offer fertility consulting was after diagnosis and before beginning the treatment process, consistent with Macklon et al 38 Our physician should get additional training and skills to handle these sensitive topics to increase fertility intentions. This was the first study to discover the impact of reproductive concerns on fertility intentions among young female lupus patients in China.…”

“…concluded that we should encourage women to talk about their fertility problems thus may reduce women's reproductive concerns. Kufel‐Grabowska et al 37 . found that the most appropriate time to offer fertility consulting was after diagnosis and before beginning the treatment process, consistent with Macklon et al 38 .…”

Meningkatkan kualitas hidup pasien kanker: Peran perawat dalam mengatasi tantangan seksual

“…Fakultas Ilmu Keperawatan Universitas Indonesia Korespondensi penulis: Rizka Amelia. *Email: rizkaameliatw@gmail.com DOI: https://doi.org/10.33024/hjk.v18i3.252 381 (Barjasteh, Farnam, Elsous, Nedjat, Dizaji, & Khakbazan, 2022).…”

“…Pendidikan dan penyuluhan kesehatan seksual yang dilakukan dengan diajarkan langsung kepada pasien sendiri maupun bersama-sama dengan pasangannya. (Fatehi et al, 2019;Barjasteh et al, 2022;Mohammadi et al, 2022;Abedini et al, 2020). Pendidikan seks dapat membantu meningkatkan fungsi seksual dengan meningkatkan kesadaran tentang anatomi genital dan siklus respon seksual.…”

“…Intervensi perawat tidak hanya ditujukan pada pasien, tetapi juga pada pasangannya (Zhang et al, 2022;Barjasteh et al, 2022). Sedikit yang diketahui mengenai pengalaman pasangan romantis pasien kanker.…”