Читать книгу The Lovin' Ain't Over for Women with Cancer - Ralph Alterowitz - Страница 11

Within the context of cancer therapies, female sexual dysfunction (FSD) must be discussed as well. In the last half-century, substantial research has led to a clear definition of male sexual dysfunction, while women’s sexual difficulties were often dismissed as being “all in their heads.” Medical doctors were often quick to tell women to see a psychiatrist when they talked about sexual problems.

Only in the late 1990s and early 2000s did researchers document the spectrum of women’s problems that are caused by physical changes, as well as by psychological problems. The medical community has finally come to recognize female sexual dysfunction as a distinct medical condition.

It is estimated that as many as 43 percent of women suffer from some level of sexual dysfunction. Of women who have been treated for cancer, about two-thirds have short- or long-term sexual dysfunction. For some women, it was treatment that brought on their problems; for others, therapy worsened their difficulties.

Sexual dysfunction is not one problem but a spectrum of different conditions, whether they are the result of cancer therapy or not.