Cancer Patients Suffer Sexual Dysfunction After Surgery

People who undergo cancer surgery are more likely to complain of sexual dysfunction, a study has found.

Christian Schmidt and colleagues have said that sexual problems are frequent after operations for carcinoma of the rectum.

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Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance. Erectile dysfunction causes, symptoms, treatment, diagnosis discussed in detail.

In Germany, each year more than 70,000 people develop colorectal carcinoma.

The study was aimed at investigating the effects of tumor surgery on quality of life and sexual function.

Data from 368 patients were available to the authors.

Female Sexual Dysfunction - Types - Causes - Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Female sexual dysfunction is defined as persistent and recurrent problems with sexual response or desire. It affects 30-50% women.

The patients were asked the following two questions- "Has the operation resulted in an impairment of your sexuality?" and "How much does this disturb you?"

It was found that men complained increasingly of sexual dysfunction over time and the effects were more marked than in women.

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Premature ejaculation is ejaculation that occurs before either of the partners is ready for it.

Younger female patients had more difficulty in experiencing their sexuality than did older female patients.

The probability of loss of function increased with the size of the wound. Radiation and chemotherapy did not have any unfavourable effect on the sex lives of the patients in this study.

In spite of the clear results, the authors emphasize that sexual function was not recorded preoperatively, to avoid unsettling the patients.

The study has been published in the current issue of Deutsches Arzteblatt International.

Source-ANI
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