Patients Undergoing Oophorectomy Benefit from Half-Day Educational Program

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

According to a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, have found that a half-day educational program can successfully help women deal with issues caused by an oophorectomy, or ovary-removing surgery.

There has been an increased number of women undergoing ovary-removing surgery as a form of cancer prevention, but many women are unaware of the psychological or sexual adverse effects of the operation. Researchers have found that just a half-day education program that teaches these women how to address these issues can successfully help them to resume usual sexual activity and decrease feelings of anxiety and depression.

According to study author Sharon Bober, PhD, many women who have inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic alterations that increase their risk for developing ovarian cancer opt for an oophorectomy to decrease that risk. After the procedure, however, women often experience vaginal dryness, a decrease in libido, a change in body image, and a decreased sense of femininity.

In addition to learning approaches to deal with these adverse effects, study participants reported that it was helpful to be part of a group of women undergoing a similar experience.