Sexuality After Ovarian Cancer Therapy

Juliane Farthmann, Annette Hasenburg
In: Ovarian Cancer - Clinical and Therapeutic Perspectives · 2012 · doi:10.5772/27056 · W1538968634
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Ovarian cancer therapy can cause sexual dysfunction, including dyspareunia and orgasmic dysfunction, with varied causes and treatment options available.

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This chapter examines the impact of ovarian cancer treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, on sexual function and quality of life in female patients. It highlights that premature menopause induced by these therapies often leads to significant sexual dysfunction, such as decreased libido, dyspareunia, and vaginal dryness, which are compounded by psychological distress related to body image and fertility loss. The authors emphasize the necessity for multidisciplinary care models that integrate gynecologic oncology with psychosexual counseling to address these multifaceted issues effectively. This paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

Disturbances of sex life may significantly impair the quality of life and negatively affect the partnership of many women undergoing therapy for ovarian cancer. The problems may have different causes depending on the personal history, the development of female identity and the body self-image of affected women. Younger women are mostly concerned by the complete loss of ovarian function, while for postmenopausal women the loss of the remaining androgen activity of the postmenopausal ovary may play an important role. Importantly, 62% of patients complain of dyspareunia and 75% of orgasmic dysfunction after therapy for ovarian cancer. The significance of radical pelvic and para-aortal lymph node dissection with regard to sexual arousal disorders is not yet very clear. Physicians function as an important model when they talk about therapy-induced sexual dysfunction, thereby signalizing that they regard sexuality as a natural part of life. Physicians do not necessarily need special training to provide sexual therapy. An attitude of interest and an open mind with regard to the patients' sexual problems may give her or him the opportunity for further helpful interventions. Somatic or sexual impairments should not be equated with a general failure of the person. Addressing such problems in detail can avoid unnecessary suffering for patients. A local or systemic application of estrogens seems justifiable from an oncological point of view. Antidepressive therapy should be considered if necessary. For premenopausal patients with an early and highly differentiated carcinoma fertility-preserving surgery may be an option.
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Open access Submitted: 15 February 2011 Published: 15 February 2012 DOI: 10.5772/27056 From the Edited Volume Edited by Samir A. Farghaly Submitted: 15 February 2011 Published: 15 February 2012 © 2012 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Discover 2026 Nobel Laureate Francis Halzen’s chapter on IntechOpen >

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dyspareunia

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