Sexual quality of life in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer.

Sexual quality of life (QOL) is a significant concern for breast cancer survivors. This study investigated sexual quality of life in a sample of 191 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Sixty percent of the sample indicated disruption in their sexual quality of life. Sexual QOL during treatment was significantly more disrupted among women who received chemotherapy, were younger, had higher stage of disease, reported more depressive symptoms near time of diagnosis, and underwent a total mastectomy. Hierarchical linear regression was used to model sexual QOL and feelings of sexual attractiveness. Worse physical quality of life, chemotherapy, and depressive symptoms near time of diagnosis were associated with worse sexual QOL during treatment. An interaction between chemotherapy status and type of surgery, for feelings of sexual attractiveness, suggested that chemotherapy affected sexual attractiveness only among women who underwent a lumpectomy. These results add to growing evidence that sexual QOL is a multidimensional construct with aspects differentially affected by variables related to cancer survivorship.