Sexual function in South African women treated for cervical cancer

摘要

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in South African women, but the most common cancer in Black women. Despite cervical cancer screening being available, most women present with late stage disease requiring the standard curative treatment of radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy. Cervical cancer and its treatment have various side effects, which have a negative influence on sexual function. Our study aimed at describing the sexual function of women treated for cervical cancer at an academic hospital, in the third (M3), sixth (M6) and twelfth months (M12) after completing treatment. A cross sectional design, convenience sampling and calculated sample size (n?=?147) were used. Structured interviews were conducted to collect the data, and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) served as data collection instrument. Kruskal Wallis H and Chi-square tests were used to determine the relationships between the variables. The data were collected between July and August 2015. The majority of the women (94.6%; n?=?139) experienced sexual dysfunction, which persisted over time. The most affected domain was arousal, whilst satisfaction was the least affected. Pain experienced during sexual activity persisted as time progressed. Age, educational level, the type of treatment received and having had sexual counselling before treatment commenced did not influence sexual function. Our study provided evidence that the majority of women treated for cervical cancer live with long lasting sexual dysfunction affecting all sexual function domains. Although sexual dysfunction reached the highest level in the third month after treatment, there was little improvement over time.