Impact of Sexual Counseling on Women With Breast Cancer

Breast cancer and its treatments can significantly impact a woman's sexual function and self-efficacy, leading to decreased sexual well-being.¹ A recent study assessed the effectiveness of sexual counseling and education based on self-efficacy theory in enhancing sexual function in women with breast cancer, focusing on the outcomes of counseling interventions in improving various domains of sexual function, offering promising insights for noninvasive, cost-effective approaches to support survivors' sexual health.

The study highlights the clinical importance of strengthening self-efficacy beliefs related to sexual health. | Image Credit: Chinnapong - stock.adobe.com

The randomized controlled trial is published in BMC Women’s Health.

“In analyzing the research hypotheses, both within- and between-group comparisons indicated that the intervention led to an increase in overall sexual function scores and sexual desire, lubrication, orgasm, and sexual satisfaction domains during the intervention period compared to pre-intervention, extending to the follow-up period in the intervention group which meant that the sexual counseling and education based on self-efficacy theory was effective on overall sexual function and the mentioned domains,” wrote the researchers of the study.

Survivors of breast cancer represent more than 40% of all cancer survivors, and approximately 50% have reported some type of sexual difficulty, and 45% have reported sexual pain, according to one study.²

In this study, the researchers aimed to evaluate the impact of sexual counseling and education based on self-efficacy theory on the sexual function of women with breast cancer.¹

The study employed a pretest, posttest, and follow-up design to measure changes in sexual function across 3 time points. The study population consisted of 50 married women diagnosed with breast cancer, aged 18 to 50 years, who had undergone at least 1 lumpectomy and experienced sexual dysfunction in at least 1 domain, as indicated by a score below 3.9 on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Participants were selected from the hematology departments of hospitals in Bushehr, Iran, between 2023 and 2024. Inclusion criteria required participants to be at least 3 months post chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and exclusion criteria included current psychiatric treatment, pregnancy, or other conditions interfering with sexual function.

Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group with 25 women in each group. The intervention group received 2 educational sessions and 3 counseling sessions over a 4-week period, while the control group received no intervention.

The results revealed no significant differences in demographic variables, including age, time since diagnosis, or the number of children, between the intervention and control groups (P > .05). Prior to the intervention, the mean (SD) total sexual function scores for the intervention and control groups were 16.50 (8.30) and 16.04 (8.24), respectively, with no significant differences observed (P > .05).

Changes in overall sexual function, as well as in the arousal, orgasm, lubrication, and satisfaction domains, from pretest to posttest and pretest to follow-up showed an increase in the intervention group and a decrease in the control group, with statistically significant differences between the 2 groups (P < 0.05). However, the average changes from posttest to follow-up were not statistically significant between the groups.

This study had several limitations. One key limitation was the absence of spouses' participation, which could have impacted the results, as sexual function is influenced by both partners. Additionally, the sample was limited to a specific geographical region with a small number of participants, and the voluntary, goal-based sampling approach may have limited the generalizability of the results.

Despite these limitations, the researchers believe the study highlights the clinical importance of strengthening self-efficacy beliefs related to sexual health, which can boost women's confidence and skills in overcoming sexual challenges, ultimately improving their sexual well-being.

“Health care providers interacting with breast cancer patients in various stages of the disease, including diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment rehabilitation, can use this method as an easy, cost-effective, and practical approach to enhance the sexual quality of life of breast cancer patients alongside other medical interventions,” wrote the researchers.

References

1. Jamshidi A, Noroozi F, Bagherzadeh R, et al. Effects of sexual counseling and education based on self-efficacy theory on the sexual function of women with breast cancer. BMC Women's Health. 2025;25(4). doi:10.1186/s12905-024-03512-2

2. Vegunta S, Kuhle CL, Vencill JA, Lucas PH, Mussallem DM. Sexual health after a breast cancer diagnosis: addressing a forgotten aspect of survivorship. J Clin Med. 2022;11(22):6723. doi:10.3390/jcm11226723