The availability of sexual aids and resources available to cancer survivors at a wide array of cancer centers appeared disappointingly low, according to survey results to be presented at the 2018 Cancer Survivorship Symposium.
Despite the fact that cancer treatment guidelines recommend for therapeutic aids to help with sexual rehabilitation, such as vaginal dilators, moisturizers or vacuum erection devices, survivors often don’t know where to access them or may feel too uncomfortable to even ask about them.
“Sexual dysfunction is one of the most significant and distressing problems for a majority of cancer survivors, and we also know that survivors are sort of either unsure of or not aware of how to get help for these problems,” Sharon Bober, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Sexual Health Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said during an ASCO press cast.