Post treatment quality of life among Sri Lankan women with breast cancer

Background Breast cancer and its treatment imposes a significant effect in the quality of life (QOL) of women. Being a developing country with contrasting social and cultural norms to the West, Sri Lankan women may have a different experience on QOL following surgical treatment of breast cancer. This study was conducted to evaluate post-treatment QOL in breast cancer patients and to determine its association with the type of surgery. Methods A cross sectional study was carried out. Fifty four women with non-metastatic breast cancer who underwent surgery for breast cancer at the Professorial Surgical Unit, Colombo during 2015–2018 and completed a minimum of one year follow up after surgery were invited to participate. Fifty-four women who responded were assessed using the validated EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 questionnaires. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analyses. Results The mean age was 59 years (range 36–81). A majority (61%, n = 35) underwent mastectomy and the rest (n = 19, 45%) breast conservation surgery (BCS). The mean QLQ-C30 score was 68.8 (range 8.3–100) and the mean scores for physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function, and social function were 71.4, 81.5, 77.0, 80.2, and 86.4, respectively. The mean scores for body image, sexual functioning, sexual enjoyment, future perspective, systemic therapy, breast symptoms, arm symptoms, and hair loss assessed by the QLQ-BR23 were 76.4, 18.3, 33.3, 73.6, 30.5, 16.2, 23.4 and 32.7, respectively. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were noted in global health status, physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function and social function between BCS and mastectomy. QLQ-BR23 body image, sexual functioning, sexual enjoyment and future perspective also did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) between the two groups. Conclusions Sexual functioning and enjoyment, breast and arm symptoms and hair loss contributed to poor QOL while the impact on global health status including physical, social and emotional functions were minimal. Type of surgery did not appear to be associated with QOL. Future studies with a larger sample sizes will be helpful to further study these factors.

Transcripts of Unfulfillment: A Study of Sexual Dysfunction and Dissatisfaction among Malay-Muslim Women in Malaysia

The prevalence of female sexual dysfunction (FSD), or in everyday notion, sexual dissatisfaction, among Malay women remains high, denoting that there are several influences shaping their experience of sex within marriage. This qualitative study identified the perceived effects of social factors in the development of sexual dysfunction among Malay women. Engaging a phenomenological framework, 26 in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted among married women from Peninsular Malaysia, based on their self-reporting of FSD symptoms. All sessions were audio-recorded and the data were transcribed verbatim and managed in the ATLAS.ti software before being analysed. The three themes that emerged—‘sex is taboo and culturally unacceptable’, ‘self-ignorance about sex’, and ‘lack of husband’s role in mutual sexual enjoyment’—suggest some influence of Islamic teachings and cultural conduct, as in Adat, on sexuality in society. However, a lack of knowledge and nonadherence to positive values and teachings around sexual satisfaction between men and women, as espoused through the Islamic religion, have affected woman’s sexual functions and coupling relationship even more significantly. The results of this qualitative study show that a formal, culturally sensitive, and comprehensive sex education programme incorporating both medical and Islamic knowledge may work to effectively reduce FSD.

Assessment of Health Related Quality of Life Using EORTC QLQ BR-23 among Breast Cancer Patients in Pakistan

Introduction: Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer among all other Asian countries.Late presentation of breast cancer negatively impact health related quality of life among patients. Objective: The present study was designed to assess health related quality of life using EORTC QLQ-BR23 among patients of breast cancer in Pakistan. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study design was used to assess health related quality of life among 382 breast cancer patients using EORTC QLQ-BR23. Data was collected and statistically analysed using SPSS version 21. Results: The results highlighted that the lowest scores for HRQoL were observed in the domain of functional scale i.e. sexual enjoyment (7.18, ±16.84) while highest scores were observed in the domains of body image (55.82, ±29.07) followed by systemic therapy side effects (50.88, ±18.47). Conclusion: The current study concluded poor HRQoL with a negative impact on its all domains among breast cancer patients in Pakistan. Lowest scores for HRQoL were observed in the domain of functional scale i.e. sexual enjoyment and sexual functioning while, highest scores were observed in the domains of body image followed by systemic therapy side effects.

Post Treatment Quality of Life among Sri Lankan Women with Breast Cancer

Background This study was conducted to evaluate post-treatment long-term quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer patients and to determine its association with the type of surgery.Methods All women with non-metastatic breast cancer who underwent surgery for breast cancer at the Professorial Surgical Unit, Colombo during 2015–2018 and completed a minimum of one year follow up after surgery were invited to participate in the study. Fifty-four women who responded were analysed using the validated EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 questionnaires. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analyses.Results The mean age was 59 years (range 36–81). A majority (61%, n = 33) underwent mastectomy and the rest (n = 19, 45%) breast conservation surgery (BCS). The mean QLQ-C30 score was 68.8 (range 8.3–100) and the mean scores for physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function, and social function were 71.4, 81.5, 77.0, 80.2, and 86.4, respectively. The mean scores for body image, sexual functioning, sexual enjoyment, future perspective, systemic therapy, breast symptoms, arm symptoms, and hair loss assessed by the QLQ-BR23 were 76.4, 18.3, 33.3, 73.6, 30.5, 16.2, 23.4 and 32.7, respectively. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were noted in global health status, physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function and social function between BCS and mastectomy. QLQ-BR23 body image, sexual functioning, sexual enjoyment and future perspective also did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) between the two groups.Conclusions Sexual functioning and enjoyment, breast and arm symptoms and hair loss contributed to poor QOL while the impact on global health status including physical, social and emotional functions were minimal. Type of surgery did not appear to be associated with QOL. Future studies with a larger sample sizes will be helpful to further study these factors.

2002: A Reading Appeal

In 2002, the state of Gujarat in India erupted in extreme anti-Muslim violence. The sexual violence against Muslim women and girls was particularly brutal. Survivors bore witness not only to the violence and destruction but also to the intense sexual enjoyment of the Hindu rapists and rioters. My essay returns to the survivor testimonies of 2002 in an effort to rethink, on the one hand, the status of sexual pleasure/sexual violence in the riots and, on the other, the limits of feminist identification with the Muslim victim-survivors. I argue that sexuality was crucial to all the violence of 2002. My account demonstrates the value—and the terrifying consequences—of learning to read the multiple scenes of pleasure in 2002 for feminist politics against sexual violence.

Momentary sexual enjoyment: The dyadic roles of relationship satisfaction and contraception among mixed-gender dating couples

Enjoyable sexual experiences with a romantic partner are a vital element of healthy lives and happy relationships, yet positive experiences of sex, and associated interpersonal and contraceptive factors, have not been extensively studied at the momentary level. In particular, little is known about how relationship quality and contraception use simultaneously relate to both women’s and men’s momentary sexual experiences within young adult romantic relationships. Using electronic diary reports collected three times per day for 10 days ( n = 293 reports of sexual activity), this study assessed own and partner relationship satisfaction and contraception (hormonal and condom) use as predictors of momentary sexual enjoyment in 43 mixed-gender young adult dating couples. Dyadic multilevel model results indicated that women’s relationship satisfaction positively predicted sexual enjoyment for both women and men, whereas men’s relationship satisfaction was not associated with own or partner’s sexual enjoyment. Women’s hormonal contraception use was associated with lower momentary sexual enjoyment for women and their male partners. Condom use was infrequent and not associated with sexual enjoyment, contrary to our (and many young adults') expectations. All analyses controlled for relationship length and sexual frequency. Findings underscore the simultaneous importance of hormonal and relational factors in sexual outcomes within young adult romantic relationships, as well as the complex and interdependent nature of partnered sexual experiences.

Sexual Experiences of Nursing Students and Its Correlates at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria

Background: The sexual experiences of individuals impacts on their psychological well-being. The study determined the sexual experiences of student nurses at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), as well as other factors which may be contributory to the enjoyment of their sexual experience and psychological health. Methods: The Sexual Experience Inventory (SEI) and the Index of Self-Esteem (ISE) were administered on the final year nursing students at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Results: One hundred and twenty nine (129) nursing students participated. All participants were females; 123 (95.3%) were single, 84% of them were aged 21 to 28 years. Eighty seven (67.4%) were sexually active. The desire for sexual satisfaction and religious teachings were the factors which determined the frequency of sexual activities in 39.1% and 36.8% of the respondents respectively. Among the sexually active, 47% had more than one sexual partner. The experience of orgasm was statistically related to the enjoyment of sexual activity (χ2=12.08, p=0.00) Circumcision was not found to be statistically important in the determination of sexual enjoyment in the respondents studied (χ2= 0.03, p=0.85). Both circumcision and sexual enjoyment did not significantly affect self-esteem. Conclusion: Over half of the students in this study were sexually active with first intercourse occurring early between 17 to 22 years. Achievement of orgasm was important for sexual satisfaction and enjoyment however, the presence or absence of orgasm and circumcision did not affect the self-esteem of the students.

Heterosexercising women’s sexual pleasure in Finnish sex manuals

This article examines the ways in which heterosexual women’s sexual pleasure becomes a subject of exercise in Finnish sex manuals published between 2005 and 2015. Our research focuses on the production of the heterosexual mindscape, and how women are encouraged to engage in exercise and adopt a heterosexual state of mind in order to increase their sexual pleasure. Our analysis demonstrates how power constitutes, through sex manuals, paradoxical subject positions for heterosexual women. These manuals take into account both gender and sexual equality for the sake of women’s greater sexual enjoyment, but at the same time they continue to maintain gendered power imbalances and sexism. Throughout the article, we use the term ‘heterosexercise’ as an analytical tool to examine this complexity and to understand the production of heterosexuality as a state of mind.

PUISI “ODE TO PUBIC HAIR” KARYA GWERFUL MECHAIN DAN PUISI “AKU MENCINTAIMU DENGAN SELURUH JEMBUTKU” KARYA SAUT SITUMORANG: SEBUAH TELAAH BANDINGAN

Penelitian ini mencoba membandingkan puisi “Ode to Pubic Hair” karya Gwerful Mechaindan“ Aku mencintaiMu dengan seluruh jembutKu” karya Saut Situmorang dalam kerangka postmodernisme. Dua puisi tersebut dipilih karena keduanya unik, yakni memasukkan diksi “jembut” dan imajinasi seks dalam karya puisi. Pendekatan yang dipakai adalah pendekatan sastra bandingan Sussan Bassnet, pendekatan pragmatisme puisi Vahid dkk., dan beberapa pendekatan postmodernisme Pilliang dan Craig Calhoun. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Puisi “Ode to Pubic Hair” dan “Aku mencintaiMu dengan seluruh jembutKu”sama-samamengungkap tiga idiom postmodernisme, yakni parodi, camp, dan skizofrenia. Idiom-idiom tersebut digunakan untuk menyatakan maksud penyair, yakni mengungkap imajinasi seks walaupun terdapat sedikit perbedaan yang mana Mechain mengimajinasikan coitus (yakni persenggamaan genetalia pria dan wanita) dan cunnilingus (aktivitas seksual dengan menjilat organ seksual wanita untuk memberikan kesenangan dan kenikmatan), sedangkan Saut mengimajinasikan seks oral fellatio (aktivitas seksual mengulum atau menjilat genetalia pria untuk memberikan kesenangan dan kenikmatan). Dari kedua imajinasi seks yang mereka pilih, Mechain mengungkap pemberontakan terhadap gejala sosial masyarakat patriarki dan ketatnya pengaruh gereja. Saut dengan imajinasi fellatio memperkukuh eksistensi patriarki. Dalam hal eksistensi dalam dunia sastra, Mechain mengungkap esensi perjuangan kesamaan hak atas kenikmatan seks dan wanita sebagai pengendali seks pria (feminisme eksistensialis), Saut mengungkap pemberontakan terhadap kaidah dan norma sastra modern sekaligus mengukuhkan alat eksistensi diri yang membedakannya dengan penyair-penyair lain. The research attempted to compare two poems, "Ode to Pubic Hair" by Gwerful Mechain and "Aku mencintaiMu dengan seluruh jembutKu" by Saut Situmorang, in a postmodernism framework. The two poems wereselected because of the uniqueness of theirs, both poems presented the diction of "pubic hair" and sexual imagination. The research applied Sussan Bassnet’s comparative literary approach, Vahid’s pragmatics approach to poetry analysis, and postmodern approaches of Pilliang’s and Craig Calhoun’s. The results of the study indicated that both poems revealed three postmodernism idioms, namely parody, camp, and schizophrenia. Those presented idioms expressedpotentialmotives of the poets’, namely to uncover the sexual imagination although there was a little difference in which Mechain imagined coitus (physical union of male and female genetalia) and cunnilingus (sexual activity of moving the tongue across the female sex organs in order to give pleasure and excitement), while Saut imagined fellatio (the sexual activity of sucking or moving the tongue across the penis in order to give pleasure and excitement). Of the two sexual imaginations they selected, Mechain revealed an uprising against the social phenomena in patriarchal society and the strict church’s influence. Saut, with his fellatio imagination, reinforced the existence of patriarchal values. In terms of their existence in world literature, Mechain revealed the essence of the equal rights struggle for sexual enjoyment and women as male’s sexual controller (existentialist feminism), Saut revealeda rebellion against rules and norms of modern literature as well as establishing his self-existence that distinguishedhim among poets.