Sexual life after breast cancer.

The trauma of being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer can impact greatly on womens' psychosexual functioning and intimate relationships. Survivors of breast cancer report that issues of body image, sexuality and partner communication rarely are addressed by traditional health care providers (Ganz, Rowland, Desmond, Meyerowitz, & Wyatt, 1998). Psychotherapy can help women cope with difficult changes in body image and sexual functioning, and there is evidence that psychotherapy may prolong life (Speigel, Bloom, Kraemer, & Gottheil, 1989). However, many mental health professionals are not comfortable addressing sexual issues, nor are they well versed in the medical aspects of the disease and its treatment. It would seem that marital and sex therapists are better equipped than most to provide mental health services to breast cancer patients.