Authors: Eman A. Soliman El-Hosary, Amany A. Abd-Elsalam.
There is an increasing awareness about the effect of gynecologic reproductive cancer treatment on sexual dysfunction. The assessment and treatment of sexual problems should become an important part of the standard care of cancer survivors' women. There were great challenges reported by the cervical cancer survivors' women. Nurses are the facilitators of the healing process and honor the cancer cervix survivors' subjective experiences and beliefs about their health and values. The study aimed to assess the severity of sexual dysfunction symptoms and determining the effect of the standard oncology nursing care intervention on reducing “sexual dysfunctions” among cervical cancer survivors' women. Women's sexual dysfunctions are assessed using Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). “Pre-posttest” questionnaires supplemented by structured interview questionnaire are administered to 50 women diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated by chemoradiotherapy in the Menoufiya University of the cancer institute of the Menoufiya Governorate-Arab Republic of Egypt. Results revealed significant decrease in sexual dysfunctions among cervical cancer survivors' women as measured by the FSFI checklist at posttesting. Results along with the interviews revealed that the effectiveness of standard oncology nursing care intervention on reducing sexual dysfunctions among cervical cancer survivors' women. The study concluded and recommended that nursing care service through the provision of “educational counseling” on sexuality can be an important part of the standard “oncology nursing practice” and could be an alternative to overcome symptoms of sexual dysfunctions among cervical cancer survivors' women and their husbands.
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