Breast Cancer Patients’ Experience and Wishes Regarding Communication on Sexual Health - The BEROSE Study
Abstract Purpose: Although sexual health (SH) is a major concern for many patients with breast cancer (BC), only few of them receive adequate information on this topic throughout their care. BEROSE is a single-center pilot cross-sectional observational study, which aimed at evaluating communication on SH between women with BC and their health-care providers.Methods: From June 12th to July 31th, 2020, a survey was distributed to patients consulting at Breast Cancer Unit of Gustave Roussy Cancer Center. The primary endpoint was the rate of women reporting to have received information on SH from health professionals throughout active treatment administration or BC follow-up.Results: Of 348 surveys collected, 318 were completely filled and included in the analysis. Sixty-one percent of women were older than 50 years and 65% had a localized BC. The majority (63%) was receiving hormone-therapy (37%) or chemotherapy (26%). Overall, 65% reported that they had not received any information about SH throughout their care, while 69% felt it would have been important to discuss sexual issues. Most of women expected professionals to bring up the topic, preferably oncologists or gynecologists, during face-to-face consultations. Concerning satisfaction on SH, 83% reported of being satisfied or very satisfied before BC diagnosis, and only 30% at the time of our survey. Conclusion: Most of women treated or followed-up for BC feel that they lack of information regarding SH-related issues. The impact of BC diagnosis and treatment on SH should be discussed with all women from the first visit and then regularly readdressed.