Sexual Health Needs of Women with Breast Cancer: A Rapid Review

Abstract

Introduction: The number of women diagnosed with breast cancer has been rising globally over the past few decades. Upon hearing of a breast cancer diagnosis, women face many challenges including emotional distress, body image issues and sexual dysfunction. Regarding the importance of sexuality for breast cancer patients, this paper aims to validate the sexual health needs of women with breast cancer. Aim: To assess the sexual health needs of women with breast cancer and a need for further research. Materials and Methods: This research is a rapid review conducted in Iran, in April 2020. Databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Web of Science as well as the Iranian Scientific Information Database (SID), were searched with mentioned keywords, “Female Breast Cancer”, “Sex Counselling”, “Female Sexual Dysfunction” and “Sexual Health Needs”. Results: This review included 16 studies with one randomised clinical trial, four cross-sectional, four review articles, three qualitative articles, three mixed-method studies and one cohort. This study highlights four major sexuality-related information needs of women with breast cancer including: informational need about sexual activity; informational need about fertility-preserving options before starting breast cancer treatment; informational need about prosthesis or breast reconstruction surgery, and informational need about physical changes caused by breast cancer treatments. Conclusion: This review highlight the importance of sexual health needs for female breast cancer patients. However, little attention has been received from women’s health professionals and researchers and further research on sexuality and breast cancer is recommended to affirm these research findings.