This summer, an international group of clinicians and researchers met in Washington, D.C., for a first-of-its-kind symposium devoted to cancer survivorship and sexual health.
Higher-than-anticipated
attendance among physicians, mental health providers and other
professionals attests to growing recognition of the sexual health needs
of cancer survivors.
If I could summarize one theme from this conference, it was a focus on ways to make sexual health services more readily available to our patients.
As cancer survivors become a larger segment of the population, the need for comprehensive survivorship care will only grow.
Specialized care team
Some
of the presentations at the meeting described how hospitals and cancer
centers created specialized care teams for sexual health problems.
Typically, these teams are partnerships between medical and mental health providers with interests and training in sexuality.
For example, a group of researchers in Sweden found that prostate cancer
patients had much better sexual outcomes after a sex therapist was
added to their team of medical and surgical staff. Other presentations
from researchers in North America, Africa, Australia, Europe and the
Middle East echoed the need for a team effort.
Continue reading Cancer Survivorship and Sexual Health: Now More Than Ever.