Sexual dysfunction affected 70 percent of women in study, 'very high number'
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comMost breast cancer survivors find sex difficult
Seeded on Thu Sep 23, 2010 3:33 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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Ahhh, the bit they don't tell you about. I'm almost 5 years out from my diagnosis and have been taking Arimidex for approx. 4 years - goodbye sex life. All things sexual were more than fine prior to this event in our lives but now... not only is it very painful (when I did try) but the thought to have sex doesn't even cross my mind anymore. We have decided that it is just the price we have to pay post cancer - hey, at least I'm still alive and kickin' - but, nobody ever, EVER mentioned that this would be the side effect and, once you've been diagnosed it doesn't really take much to set your mind to thinking that now something else has gone wrong healthwise. For me, it would have been better to know that this could happen. That info. could have saved me much concern.
I so agree with the "bit they don't tell you about." There is alot of that information that Md's forget to share with their patients. You can read and inform yourself until you are blue in the face-but you are bound to miss something-or put it on that "I"ll deal with this later list.
After all that you go through-especially losing a breast-you have to deal with this. Yes you are still alive-but you are missing out on sex-the way it used to be. That can be quite damaging.
The whole situation-sucks!
Essentially the treatment is a chemically induced menopause, which may be coupled post-surgical image issues and potentially using a SRI for depression- a triple whammy.
Just another situation for which the patient shouldn't be told to see a psychiatrist for their symptoms.
I don't know if there is a good age to get Breast Cancer, but 42 seems much too early. I would like to have had that left breast a bit longer and maybe 9 more years of a physical relationship with my husband. It really is like flipping a switch. While I am thankful for my life, I'll always mourn the loss of desire and my physical appearance. We're not supposed to talk about this, but it is true.
While thankful to be alive and well, the loss of physical appearance and sense, look, and feel of "artificial" is difficult to deal with, especially in today's world of boobs busting out all over television screens. Makes me curl up and feel sad, not sorry for myself, just sad. Being in the 40's is too early. Would the medical profession be so quick with surgery to emasculate a man?