best as the voice of Yakko Warner of “Animaniacs,” Pinky of “Pinky and the Brain” and Raphael of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” But it’s what Rob Paulsen does outside of TV that brings him an extra sense of gratitude.

In 2016, Paulsen noticed a lump on the left side of his neck, but it didn’t hurt or affect his day-to-day activities. When he finally had it checked, he learned that he had stage 3 metastatic squamous cell carcinoma.

Paulsen quickly started treatment and now deals with some lasting side effects, such as taste issues and exhaustion. But he’s keeping busy as the new spokesperson for the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, raising awareness and offering advice about the implications of this type of cancer.

®, Paulsen discussed his immediate reaction to learning of his cancer and emphasized the importance of support systems.

®: You make your living with your voice. What was it like to learn you had throat cancer?

I remember my ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist) called and said, “How are you feeling?” And I said, “I don’t know. How am I feeling?” And he said, “It’s cancer.” It was kind of like being a little bit gobsmacked. But neither I nor my wife flipped out. Neither of us were like, “Oh my God, why me?” My wife is a breast cancer survivor from 20 years ago, and the response was more like “Well, that’s kind of surprising.” And then when things settled down, we thought, “Why not us?” Cancer is an equal opportunity offender. It doesn’t distinguish between people who deserve it and (people) who don’t.

I also had the experience, I don’t even know how many times, in which I had the incredible gift of speaking with parents and their children, many of whom had cancer and other ailments that made it clear to them at the beginning that their children weren’t going to make it to sometimes 7 or 8 or 15 or 20 (years old). Once things settled in, it (provided remarkable context) in terms of what is bad news. It’s never good news.

But to have had the experience of seeing how parents deal with their children, knowing that their children aren’t going to make it out of the hospital in the way in which they’d hoped... I’d seen that right up close from parents who wanted their kids to talk with Raphael, Pinky or Yakko. That was pretty mind-blowing in terms of how one deals with the worst possible news one could ever receive about their most precious thing.

It put in perspective what my struggle was going to be. I think you can’t quantify the struggle until the people who love you go through it with you. That’s something that’s kind of all unknown. But I was told quite quickly, “We can cure you. However, before we do, we almost have to kill you.” And the art, I learned, of medicine is how close you can take someone to the edge to kill the bad stuff and not kill them. But the collateral damage is the people who love you, because they have to watch. It’s people who love me and have known me for 25 to 30 years, and they have to watch me go through it.

In short, it was certainly the most difficult physical thing I’ve ever gone through. I had seven weeks of daily radiation to my head and neck. I also had eight concurrent chemotherapy treatments. But the cumulative effect of the radiation was tough. I had a lot of mouth sores. I couldn’t swallow or eat. It takes a toll on your body. I lost 50 pounds, which I didn’t have to lose.

What is the importance of a support system? 

You can’t say enough of how important that is. I understand that when people hear this, there will be folks who have to deal with this treatment alone — “alone” is in quotes. There are the medical professionals. The Head and Neck Cancer Alliance offers (help), and there are people who are willing to give you phone support.

I have a friend of a friend who’s going through her own HPV-related cancer — my cancer and the cancers about which we’re speaking, by and large, in this realm are human papillomavirus induced. The woman is about 70 and going through it now. And she has a different kind of support system, but very helpful nonetheless, in the guise of myself and people who are willing to help take her to treatment and chat with her and get her whatever she needs.

A support system is a support system. There are resources available. And it is important to not sell short how important those resources can be for people who have to deal with this on their own and do not have the vital support that I had.

What advice do you have for others who may be facing a similar diagnosis?

Don’t be afraid to embrace anyone around you who wants to help. I wanted to be strong. I knew there would be a point at which I couldn’t do it anymore for a while, so that’s how I wanted to move through it. By the same token, if somebody says, “Honey, I really want to drive you to radiation treatments,” don’t push them out. I had people who respected me doing it the way I wanted to do it. But it’s really about sharing the burden.

If you don’t have someone in your life who is able or willing to hold your hand literally and go through it with you, then man, what I can tell you is that laughter is the best medicine. And the cool thing is you can’t OD and the refills are free. If you can find a way to laugh about anything, about how many times you’ve hiccupped today because all of a sudden the radiation tickled your vagus nerve, and you call your oncologist at 2 o’clock in the morning, saying, “I’ve been hiccupping for two hours, and I’m afraid I’m going to break a rib.” And they say, “Oh, no, we got you covered.” You have to find a way, in my view, to find the humor in circumstances, whatever it is, whether it’s movies, music, watching comedy — anything that brings you joy and makes you smile. It turns out that my ability to laugh and be positive and trying to find the humor in a dark situation was for me a big deal. It may not work for everyone. But for me, humor is a big part of the equation.

Articles

People

Voice actor Rob Paulsen opens up about how a lump on his neck led to a stage 3 diagnosis.
 

Speaking Up About Head and Neck Cancers

Some patients with cancer who experience acid reflux may be prescribed medication to help, but new research suggests an unintended side effect: impaired memory and concentration.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which help reduce acid production in the stomach, are associated with concentration and memory problems in breast cancer survivors, according to study findings published in the 

. On average, cognitive problems reported by patients using the drug were between 20% and 29% more severe than issues reported by non-PPI users.

Researchers examined data from three Ohio State University clinical trials examining fatigue, a yoga intervention and vaccine response in patients and survivors of breast cancer. Patients reported their use of prescribed and over-the-counter medications, then rated any cognitive symptoms.

According to the results, PPI use predicted more severe concentration and memory symptoms and lower quality of life related to impaired cognition, regardless of whether a patient had received a diagnosis of depression or other illness, as well as their treatment, age and education.

“Based on what we’re seeing, we don’t know if PPI users might not be able to fully recover cognitively after chemotherapy,” lead author Annelise Madison, a graduate student in clinical psychology at Ohio State, said in a press release. “It’s an area for further investigation.”

Snippets

Researchers looked at the connection between memory loss and acid reflux from prescribed medications in patients with cancer. 

Memory Issues? Acid Reflux Drugs Could Be To Blame

Diana Bosse intended to take off on a road trip in April 2019, terrible bloating, night sweats and uncontrollable itching sent her to the emergency room. The symptoms had bothered her for a couple of weeks, but she never linked them to something serious.

Following a CT scan, the doctor told Bosse that she had extensive swelling at the lymph nodes in her abdomen, which indicated cancer. “I thought, ‘Boy, I didn’t see that coming,’ ” Bosse said in an interview.

Her diagnosis: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bosse turned her devastation into humorous messages that she posted daily to Facebook. The coping mechanism led to her newly published book, “The Perks of Having Cancer: An Inspirational, Positive and Humorous View of a Not-So- Inspirational, Positive or Humorous Situation,” which she discussed with 

: What was it like to receive a cancer diagnosis?

I was in shock. I had called my husband to let him know that I was going to stop at the emergency room and told him I’d call when I found something out. When the doctor came in, I was by myself, and he didn’t sugarcoat it.

I had to have some testing, so I ended up receiving a PET scan and bone marrow biopsy. Then they set me up with the R-CHOP — Rituxan (rituximab), cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin (doxorubicin), Oncovin (vincristine) and prednisone &mdash; regimen. I went through six rounds of chemotherapy.

I was very fortunate. I did not get any of the side effects other than losing my hair. I was a little tired, but I wasn’t nauseous. I never missed a meal. But cancer just really messes with your mind. I think you feel like when you’re going through treatment, there’s an end game, and you’re focused on getting better.

And then once the treatment stops, it’s like, “OK, now what? Am I just gonna wait for this ball to drop?” And it’s a horrible feeling to always have it in the back of your mind that it may come back.

Why did you decide to be so public about your cancer diagnosis? 

I’m a sharer. People know my business (

). I started posting on Facebook because I wanted to help hold myself accountable. I wanted to try my best to stay positive every day. And then it got to be a regular thing. People started expecting to see my posts every morning. Whether they had cancer or not, they were looking forward to what I had to say.

Have you had any feedback on the kind of impact your posts have had?

Initially, I had people say, “Oh, my sister has cancer, and I told her about your Facebook page. So she’s going to get on so she can start looking at that.” Since I’ve written the book, people have told me, “You know, Diana, I have MS (multiple sclerosis), and I can relate to a lot of things that you’ve said in your book. It’s not strictly for people with cancer.”

Then I’ve had other people who told me that they are still struggling with cancer but read my book three times when they needed something to lift them up.

What can readers expect from “The Perks of Having Cancer”? 

That you can find something positive in something negative every single day, even as hard as those days can be. I think it can give people hope. When somebody tells you that you have cancer and chemotherapy is going to be your treatment, you think the worst.

I was feeling poorly prior to my treatment. I couldn’t eat and was nauseated. I was weak and could barely stand to brush my teeth. I thought, “Oh my gosh, what’s going to happen when I start chemotherapy? I might not make it if I’m this sick now.”

Based on the book’s title, have you discovered any perks to cancer?

It really pushed me to meeting a whole new group of people, some who are traveling the journey now and those who are survivors. Anytime you get a chance to connect with somebody and make a new friend, it’s a great opportunity.

I also got to fulfill my dream of being a published author. I probably never would have published a book otherwise. I’ve written several but never bothered to publish them. Once I got cancer, I thought, “Well, if not now, when? Nothing is guaranteed. I need to do this now.”

Does a particularly humorous moment stick out from your cancer journey?

One of my favorite parts in the book is on page 51, about toilet paper. You’re so constipated on chemotherapy, and I was thinking to myself, “At least I’m saving money on toilet paper.”

I’ve never had a child, but I always thought (my cancer) felt like a baby was in there kicking. So, my husband and I decided we were going to start picking out names, and we were leaning toward Enema if it was a girl.

I’ve always found myself to be a people pleaser ... trying to put myself and my family first and not worry about pleasing everybody else. If there is something I really don’t want to do, even though I feel like maybe it’s the right thing to do, I might not do it anymore. I’ve become less of a yes person and more of a person who does what’s really important to me.

Book Shelf

A diffuse large B-cell lymphoma survivor shares her frank and funny view of coping with cancer.
 

Laughing Through Lymphoma

was a typical 20-something until, at 24, she received a diagnosis of stage 2 estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

After treatment, she was in remission for three years, and then a simple cough led to the discovery that her cancer had spread. She is now living with metastatic breast cancer.

Agustin has become an author, a public speaker and an advocate, sharing her story with young women around the world. In an interview with 

®, Agustin discusses how she lives and thrives with an incurable cancer that she never thought would happen to her.

®: Can you describe your initial diagnosis?

I found a lump in my left breast, but because I was so young, I didn’t think anything of it. When I went to see my family doctor, she said that it’s normal for women in their 20s to have bumpy breasts because of their period or a cyst. She told me not to worry about it, so I waited. Then the lump grew, which led me to getting it checked once more. At that point, she gave me a referral paper to get an ultrasound.

I remember calling but asking for a mammogram because whenever you hear of breast cancer, you think of a mammogram. ... The moment I started giving the receptionist my date of birth, I was like, “1988.” And she cut me off to say, “Oh, they don’t give mammograms to women under 40.” I thought, “If they don’t give mammograms to women under 40, then I must be too young to have anything serious.”

So again, I waited, but the lump grew bigger. Finally, I saw my doctor again, and she told me, “You were supposed to ask for an ultrasound.” Fast-forward, I had an ultrasound and biopsy, which led to learning I had breast cancer. I underwent chemotherapy, radiation and a mastectomy of my left breast. Treatment lasted about a year and then I was declared cancer-free and in remission. For me, it was over.

When did you discover that the cancer had come back and spread?

In 2017, I had a cough, but it was winter, and I live in Montreal. Coughing in the winter is a normal thing out here. But the cough lingered. My boyfriend, who’s a bit paranoid about my health, became worried and forced us to go to the hospital. They did an X-ray and told me that my lungs lit up like a Christmas tree. I got another biopsy, which confirmed that it was a recurrence with metastasis. So it was the same breast cancer that had now spread to both my lungs, and I had to redo chemotherapy. I lost my hair a second time, and I went through all the symptoms

all over again. Thankfully, the lung nodules reduced significantly. We moved on to hormonal therapy. Since then, scans have been quite stable. So, I’m taking hormonal therapy and the newer CDK4/6 inhibitors. I’m living with it. I’m thriving, and I’m still advocating because again I don’t think there are many people who like to talk about a stage 4 diagnosis. It’s completely different from a primary cancer or a cancer in its early stages, mentally and psychologically.

You refer to yourself as a cancer thriver. What does that mean to you?

I felt like “survivor” is too passive. To me, “thriver” means one who lives beyond the limitations of a cancer diagnosis. It’s someone who will wake up every day and choose love, hope and faith over fear. It’s someone who uses their experience, despite the chaos, to better themselves and serve others along the way to make a difference.

How do you maintain that positivity in your life while living with metastatic breast cancer?

I surround myself with positive stories that inspire me. Also, it takes just going inward and remembering who I am, what I’m capable of and what I believe in. And if one person can make it, why can’t it be me? I choose to focus on the best-case scenario rather than the worst.

That’s what gets me up every day, along with my incredible support system. I’m surrounded by a very beautiful and loving family. My partner and I have been together for six years, and I have my little Chihuahua. I’m just surrounded with so much love. I think that that’s what I do every day: focus on the things that I have and are thriving rather than the things that aren’t.

What advice do you have for other survivors and thrivers?

I tell them to take charge of their bodies and health, to build their team and realize that they are in the driver’s seat of their health. A lot of people tend to feel like they are the victim and put their whole life and health in someone else’s hands.

But I think it’s important to feel empowered and do whatever it takes to feel empowered, to make sure that every choice you make is your own. Hire a whole team and find the best oncologist for you. Find someone that you can connect with, that you feel comfortable to speak with, and ask your questions.

But also realize that your oncologist is there to manage the cancer, so find other health professionals — a nutritionist, a dietitian, a physical therapist, trainer, an energy healer &mdash; to help you take the best care of yourself.

Metastatic breast cancer doesn’t keep Nalie Agustin from raising awareness and empowering others.
 

Thriving With Incurable Cancer

Childhood cancer survivors are developing colorectal polyps unrelated to a familial syndrome, the usual association, according to new findings from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Called therapy-associated polyposis (TAP), the condition was first seen in five patients in 2014. Recently, the study was expanded to include 34 patients from eight cancer centers in the United States who didn’t have a known genetic link to the condition.

The researchers examined data from patients who had been treated with chemotherapy and/ or radiation therapy for their cancer and found that the polyps developed a median of 27 years after treatment. In addition, 35% of patients had more than 50 colorectal polyps and 94% had multiple types. “This contrasts with other hereditary polyposis syndromes in which all the polyps are generally of the same type,” the researchers wrote.

Other cancer treatment-associated complications arose in 74% of patients, suggesting that individuals who develop TAP may be especially susceptible to treatment- related conditions in general, the researchers said.

Because colorectal polyps can be a risk factor for colon cancer, patients are typically advised

to undergo increased screening and other invasive procedures to detect the abnormal growths at the earliest stage possible. “By knowing the specific signs of TAP — and knowing that it isn’t part of a familial syndrome &mdash; physicians can spare family members unnecessary screenings and ensure patients receive proper treatment,” the researchers said.

Childhood cancer survivors are developing colorectal polyps unrelated to family histories, according to new data.

Childhood Cancer Survivors See Uptick in Colorectal Polyps

We asked our audience what you could change about cancer care, here’s what they had to say.

We asked our readers, what do you wish you could change about cancer care?
 

Overheard on Social Media, Advice From People Like You

Caren DeSantis wasn’t surprised when tests showed that she had dangerously high blood sugar levels. “I had added 30 pounds onto my petite frame in less than six months, and I knew the extra weight wasn’t good for me,” says the Fort Worth, Texas, resident. DeSantis has always struggled with her weight, but the pounds really added up in October 2013.

That’s when DeSantis, then age 48, began taking steroids to keep nausea at bay while undergoing chemotherapy to treat stage 3c endometrial cancer. “It seemed crazy that I was getting bigger while feeling sick and having little appetite, yet I seemed to gain weight overnight,” she says. “And I was too wiped out from the cancer treatments to even think about exercising.”

As soon as DeSantis completed her treatments — surgery, six rounds of chemotherapy and 33 targeted radiation treatments to her pelvic region &mdash; she turned her focus to improving her overall health. She fixed nutritious meals and was constantly on the move, chasing after her active toddler daughter. She also started volunteering at Cancer Hope Network, a national nonprofit organization that pairs support volunteers with other people affected by cancer. Slowly, the blood sugar numbers crept down, but in 2015 the cancer came back, this time in the para-aortic lymph nodes near her left kidney. “After (I underwent) more radiation treatments, my blood sugar was off the charts no matter what I did,” says DeSantis, who received a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. “That diagnosis wasn’t as devastating as cancer, but managing another chronic illness is definitely a challenge.”

Up to 18% of people with cancer also have diabetes, a double whammy that makes a person even more susceptible to heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, nerve damage and neuropathy, or numbness or tingling in the hands or feet. The most common form of diabetes, type 2, makes the body resistant to insulin, a pancreatic hormone that helps blood sugar, or glucose, enter cells so the body can use it for energy. When cells resist insulin, glucose stays in the blood, building to unhealthy levels that can damage blood vessels and nerves.

An online search for diabetes risk factors will turn up a list of contributors such as excess weight, sedentary lifestyle, family history and age — people over 45 are more likely to have the disease. But one risk factor is seldom mentioned: cancer.

Study findings suggest that the incidence of diabetes is six times greater among people with cancer compared with those who don’t have cancer. Results of a 2018 JAMA Oncology study showed that cancer survivors are more likely to develop diabetes within two years of completing cancer treatments, although the risk remains elevated throughout a survivor’s lifetime. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people with cancer of the pancreas, the organ that makes insulin, are five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people with similar risk factors and no history of cancer.

Diabetes odds nearly double for people with kidney or liver cancer. Still, experts caution that diabetes isn’t necessarily triggered by a certain type of cancer. Instead, it’s more likely that certain cancer treatments are responsible for raising blood sugar levels. The longer those levels stay elevated, the greater the chances of diabetes. Unfortunately, many cancer-fighting treatments are linked to diabetes. “Steroids mitigate nausea and other chemotherapy side effects and are a huge help in getting a patient through potentially lifesaving treatments,” says Dr. Azeez Farooki, an endocrinologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

“The downside is that people who take steroids often gain weight that can be hard to lose. Steroids also raise blood sugar, although this effect is usually temporary and goes away when steroid use stops.” Radiation treatments, whether whole-body therapy to treat blood cancers or targeted to the abdominopelvic region where the pancreas is located, may also destroy insulin-producing cells, he says.

There is also a correlation between diabetes and immunotherapies, such as those commonly used to treat kidney, lung and blood cancers. “Research suggests that approximately one out of 110 people who take immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1) develops sudden and often severe onset of diabetes, requiring insulin treatments,” says Dr. Victor Lavis, a professor in the department of endocrine neoplasia and hormonal disorders at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Experts think the treatment triggers an attack not just on cancer cells but also on critical insulin-producing beta cells found in the pancreas.

Low estrogen levels may explain why women who are postmenopausal or in medically induced menopause because of certain treatments for breast or gynecologic cancers are more prone to diabetes. In one study out of the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, nearly 10% of post- menopausal breast cancer survivors developed diabetes within six years of finishing cancer treatments.

Age may also play a role. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than a quarter of people 65 and older have diabetes. “As individuals get older, their risk for developing diabetes goes up regardless of whether they’ve had cancer,” says Denise Soltow Hershey, a family nurse practitioner and associate professor at the Michigan State University College of Nursing. Hershey, who also holds a Doctor of Philosophy in nursing, conducts research on diabetes and cancer.

Finally, the stress from managing a chronic disease like cancer, combined with angst-inducing situations like hospitalization, surgery, infection and fear of the unknown, can flood the body with cortisol. This steroid hormone causes stored energy to be released and converted into glucose that is released into the bloodstream.

Although these links are cause for concern, cancer does not always lead to diabetes.

“Regardless of cancer history, anyone can lower the risk of diabetes by being active, eating a healthy diet that is high in fiber and low in fat, and maintaining a healthy weight,” Hershey says. Because obesity raises the risk of diabetes and cancer recurrence, a healthy weight is key to staving off both diseases.

This doesn’t call for extreme measures: Dropping just 5% to 7% of excess weight and fitting in 150 minutes of physical activity every week can cut diabetes risk by nearly 58%, and that number jumps to 71% for people over 60, according to CDC research.

If a person’s blood sugar was elevated during cancer treatments, Farooki recommends blood sugar tests every six months for the first year after completing therapy. The American Diabetes Association recommends annual screenings for individuals at high risk of diabetes, or every three years for those at average risk. “There is a definite need for more aggressive diabetes screenings and disease prevention strategies for cancer survivors,” Farooki says.

The CDC estimates that more than one in three Americans have prediabetes, meaning their blood sugar levels push perilously close to a type 2 diagnosis. But 80% of people with prediabetes are unaware that they have the condition, so they miss out on opportunities to make proactive lifestyle changes that could halt disease progression.

There are several ways to screen for diabetes. The fasting plasma glucose test assesses blood sugar levels after the patient has gone without food and drink (excluding water) for at least eight hours. Results between 100 and 125 milligrams per deciliter indicate prediabetes.

A healthy number is anything below 99, whereas anything above 126 is considered diabetes.

Another blood test, hemoglobin A1c, provides an average of a person’s blood sugar levels over a period of two to three months. An A1c reading of 6.5% or higher indicates diabetes. A healthy level is less than 5.7%. The test is more convenient because it doesn’t involve fasting. However, preliminary findings from a study conducted at City of Hope’s Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute in Duarte, California, suggest that the A1c test misses up to 73% of diabetes diagnoses compared with the oral glucose test.

In addition to getting routine blood tests, it’s important to be on the lookout for signs of diabetes: frequent urination, especially at night; increased thirst; unexplained weight loss; and blurred vision. “Many people with cancer experience ongoing symptoms of fatigue and neuropathy,” Hershey says.

“While these problems may be related to cancer treatments, they should not be dismissed, because they may also indicate diabetes.” It’s important to call a doctor if a person notices any warning signs of diabetes, including worsening problems like fatigue and neuropathy.

Diabetes contributes strongly to cardiovascular disease, the second leading cause of death for people with cancer — and probably the leading cause for people who have survived cancer for 10 years or more, so it’s vital to keep blood sugar levels in check. Elevated glucose levels can damage blood vessels, making people with diabetes twice as likely to experience heart disease or stroke. In addition, cancer survivors who have diabetes and don’t control their blood sugar report a lower quality of life in part because symptoms like pain and fatigue tend to be more severe. Poor blood sugar control also raises the risk of cancer recurrence, especially among breast cancer survivors.

Endocrinologists typically turn to metformin, a prescription oral medication, as the first line of treatment. “We treat diabetes the same regardless of whether you’ve had cancer or are currently going through cancer treatments,” Farooki says. “The goal is to bring blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible through healthy lifestyle changes and medications, if needed.”

Renita Michael takes Janumet, a combination of metformin and Januvia (sitagliptin), to manage diabetes that occurred after she had surgery and isotopic radiation therapy for stage 3 thyroid cancer in 2006. Michael, a resident of Hillsborough, New Jersey, was 36 at the time. “I was already seeing an endocrinologist for thyroid problems, so the diabetes was quickly detected,” she says.

Even with medication, Michael’s blood sugar remains high. It doesn’t help that she’s now recovering from lumpectomies performed in 2017 and 2019 after the cancer spread to her breasts. “I try to watch what I eat, and I get blood tests every three months to help my doctor deter- mine the best treatment,” she says.

Eventually, Michael may need to do daily finger sticks to check her blood sugar and administer insulin injections. Although the idea of managing another lifelong illness is unsettling, Michael is grateful that diabetes is treatable. “My family has a history of heart disease,” she says. “I’m focused on doing what I can to protect my health and heart.”

Feature

Research links the two diseases, a double whammy that raises even more health risks, but survivors can manage the chronic condition.
 

Diabetes After Cancer: There's No Glossing Over The Truth

Targeted intervention can help reduce distressing sexual dysfunction in young breast cancer survivors, according to study findings published in the 

Researchers developed a clinical psychosexual intervention to help manage sexual dysfunction and psychological distress in 20 breast cancer survivors who had received ovarian suppression treatment.

“Unlike natural menopause, young women undergoing ovarian suppression face severe and disruptive side effects,” the researchers wrote. “Profound sexual dysfunction is one of the most prevalent, distressing side effects of treatment.”

The intervention included sexual health rehabilitation, body awareness exercises and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy skills.

All survivors received a tailored phone call once a month. Sexual and psychological distress were assessed in survivors at the beginning of the study and two months after the intervention was completed. At that follow-up, the researchers noted significant improvements in survivors’ sexual health and anxiety.

They expressed hope that in managing sexual dysfunction more women will adhere to ovarian suppression treatment.

Researchers developed a targeted intervention to help reduce distressing sexual dysfunction for young breast cancer survivors with promising results.
 

Spring 2020 | Heal