Highlights
- •A low percentage of women resorted to or requested information and treatment from a pelvic physical therapist.
- •It seems that there is a negative correlation between the presence of pain during sexual intercourse and its effect on sexual life.
- •Surviving women of breast cancer have little knowledge about the role of physiotherapy in the conservative treatment of sexual dysfunction that can appear as a side effect of the treatments received.
ABSTRACT
Background
The aim was to assess sexual perception in female breast cancer survivors and establish
if women presenting with sexual dysfunctions symptoms receive pelvic floor physiotherapy
or request information on treatment.
Methods
Cross-sectional survey carried out between January and March 2021. An online survey
designed by the authors was structured in 3 dimensions: demographic and anthropometric
data, medical data and sexual perception data. An open format survey with 23 questions
available to any website visitor. The survey followed the CHERRIES guidelines. The
study included 130 women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria.
Results
The presence of pain during sexual activity was reported in 56.92% of cases. Specifically,
40.8% reported superficial dyspareunia, which is most commonly expressed by women
as a “stinging pain.” Surprisingly, only 4.6% of the women had received any type of
pelvic floor physiotherapy treatment or had sought information.
Conclusions
Women breast cancer survivors have a negative perception of their sexuality. In addition,
there is a lack of knowledge about the role of physiotherapy in sexual dysfunction,
and only a small percentage of women received pelvic floor treatment or information
to address their sexual dysfunction.
Graphical abstract
Graphical Abstract
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 20, 2022
Accepted:
October 16,
2022
Received in revised form:
September 25,
2022
Received:
April 18,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
