乳腺癌幸存者的性生活规范

来源Sexual problems the norm for breast cancer survivors
译者zhang1845

(Health.com) -- Many middle-aged women report sexual problems, including a loss of libido and a less-than-satisfying sex life. Now a new study suggests these problems are even more common among women who have had breast cancer.

        许多中年妇女报告说她们正面临一些性问题，包括性欲减退和较之往常性满足感减弱。 现在，一项新研究显示，这些问题更在乳腺癌患者中更为常见。

In fact, 7 in 10 breast cancer survivors experience sexual problems in the two years after their diagnosis, according to the study, published this week in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

       事实上，根据本周发表的性医学杂志所言，70%的乳腺癌幸存者在她们确诊后的两年内就遭遇了性问题。

Sexual problems after breast cancer treatment are "a hidden issue that women have a real reluctance to discuss," says Dr. Christine Derzko, M.D., a professor of ob-gyn and endocrinology at the University of Toronto, who was not involved in the new research. "We have to empower women to have the confidence to ask about this. And we have to enlighten physicians to the fact that it is an issue."

        一位多伦多大学研究肥胖基因问题的专家克里斯汀教授指出，经过治疗后，乳腺癌患者所遭遇的性问题，她们都不愿意多谈。“我们应该鼓励这些患者有自信去面对咨询这方面的问题，同时，让医生们注意到这的确成为一个需要人关注的问题。”

 

拒绝性生活的10大理由

These problems can be caused by cancer drugs that block the production of estrogen (most notably Arimidex and other aromatase inhibitors), treatment-triggered menopausal symptoms, or body-image issues related to mastectomy or other surgery, researchers say.

        研究人员说，这些问题可能是由治疗癌症的药物造成的，如这些药物阻断了雌激素的产生（尤其是瑞宁得和其它芳香酶抑制剂），经过药物治疗引发了更年期的症状，或体型由于乳房切除手术或其他手术受到了影响。

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S., with some 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Thanks to improved treatments, more women than ever are surviving breast cancer.

      在美国，乳腺癌是女性中较为常见的癌症，大约每年都能诊断出20万例。多亏了医学技术的发展，越来越多的妇女从乳腺癌中存活下来。

That's good news, but it also means a growing population of survivors -- 2.4 million women in the U.S. alone -- who are coping with the fallout from diagnosis and treatment.

      这的确是个好消息，但是随着幸存者越来越多，单单美国就有2.4万患者，她们正与治疗后带来的后遗症做斗争。

Health.com: 5 ways to stay healthy after breast cancer

手术后5种方法保健康

In the study, researchers surveyed more than 1,000 Australian women under age 70.

 

在这项研究中，研究人员调查了1000多名70岁以下的澳大利亚妇女。

More than 80 percent of the women reported enjoying a satisfying sex life before battling breast cancer, but roughly two years after their diagnosis, 70 percent were having significant problems in the bedroom. (As the researchers point out, the women may have remembered their pre-diagnosis sex life as being better than it seemed at the time.)

      超过百分之八十的妇女报告说乳癌前她们对性生活都比较满意，但大约在诊断后两年内，有百分之七十的妇女会面临一些很明显的性生活问题。 （正如研究者指出，妇女可能认为她们在确诊之前的性生活似乎比确诊后的更好一些。）

By contrast, the rate of sexual problems (including low sex drive) among adult women in the population at large has been estimated at about 40 percent to 45 percent.

     相比之下，成年女性的性问题（包括性低下），总体来说估计约为百分之四十至百分之四十五。

The findings did not surprise the researchers, who had been hearing complaints about sexual problems from their breast cancer patients.

     研究人员对这项研究结果并不感到惊讶，他们早已听过很多来自于乳腺癌患者性问题方面的抱怨。

"Our impression from seeing women in the clinic was that women were experiencing a significant increase in sexual function problems following treatment," says the lead author of the study, Mary Panjari, Ph.D., a research fellow in the women's health program at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

     “我们看见在门诊妇女的印象是，妇女在遇到性功能治疗后显着增加的问题，说：”来自澳 大利亚墨尔本莫纳什大学的研究人员玛丽博士说，我们看到在诊所里治疗的那些患者，她们正面临着日益显著的性生活问题。

What, exactly, is behind the problems between the sheets? The psychological effects of surgery appear to be one factor.

      这项研究背后的主要问题是什么呢？手术带来的心理因素似乎是一个主要因素。

Just over one-third of the women who had a lumpectomy and 60 percent of the women who underwent mastectomy reported feeling different about their body image. Reconstructive breast surgery was not associated with an improved body image among the women who had one or both breasts removed.

 

      超过三分之一接受乳房肿瘤切除术患者和60%的接受乳房切除术患者说她们感到体形有变化。 乳房重建手术，对于那些单乳或双乳切除的患者的体形塑造来说并没有什么直接的联系。

Health.com: New breasts to go with my cancer-free life

新乳房和健康生活

Estrogen-blocking endocrine therapy is another likely culprit. The researchers found that the women taking aromatase inhibitors were 50 percent more likely to develop sexual problems than those not on the drugs. (Tamoxifen, another standard breast cancer treatment, doesn't lower estrogen levels to the same extent and showed less of an effect on sexual function.)

      雌激素阻断内分泌治疗是另一种可能是罪魁祸首。 研究人员发现，芳香酶抑制剂的妇女服用了百分之五十的可能性比不发展对毒品的性问题。 （莫昔芬，另一个乳癌治疗标准，并在相同的程度并不降低雌激素水平，显示对性功能的影响不大。）

Although aromatase inhibitors are good for suppressing tumors, they can also induce or exacerbate sex-stifling menopausal symptoms ranging from vaginal dryness and sensitivity to aches and pains.

       虽然芳香酶抑制剂来抑制肿瘤的好，他们也可以诱发或加剧性抑制，如阴道干燥和敏感以及疼痛更年期症状。

"These new drugs are a large part of why we have so many women beating the cancer," says Derzko. "We have to continue helping them survive, but we also have to help them survive well."

      “在很大程度上来说，这些新药物是为什么我们能帮助这么多女性战胜癌症的原因。“我们必须继续帮助他们生存下来，而我们也必须帮助她们更好的生存。”

Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats -- which 77 percent of the women in the study reported having -- were also strongly linked to sexual problems. Women with those symptoms were nearly twice as likely as women without them to report problems.

        例如潮热和盗汗更年期症状。 这些症状的妇女几乎是女性的两倍，他们可能没有报告的问题。

50岁后性生活的8大好处

Today's breast cancer survivors have a growing array of aids for improving their sex life, including non-hormonal treatments for hot flashes, vaginal moisturizers, and lubricants. Researchers are even investigating libido-boosting drugs they hope may one day be the female equivalent of Viagra.

      如今的乳腺癌幸存者对如何提高性生活质量越来越关注，她们采用了一些方法，如使用润滑剂等。

Dr. Richard Sadovsky, M.D., a family physician at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, in Brooklyn, New York, recommends that doctors ask recently diagnosed breast cancer patients about their sex drive and sexual function before they begin treatment, to establish a baseline for comparison.

        纽约州立大学的理查德Sadovsky博士，纽约市布鲁克林区的一位家庭医生，建议医生在给他们治疗之前，询问乳腺癌患者的性欲和性功能，建立一个比较基准。

Doctors should then raise the potential sexual side effects of breast cancer treatment, Sadovsky says.

医生应提高潜在乳腺癌的治疗性的副作用

Those conversations should include a woman's spouse or partner, Panjari says. Partners "need to understand that they are not being rejected emotionally and sexually, but rather the loss of desire and arousal is commonly a treatment effect," she says. "Through counseling, partners can become aware that the affected woman may be experiencing lowered sexual self esteem because of their changed body image."

        这些对话应该包括一个女人的配偶或伴侣，Panjari说。 合作伙伴“需要明白，他们没有被拒绝情感和性，而是很正常的治疗效果，”她说。 “通过咨询，她们的伴侣可以意识到，因为身体的改变，她们可能会觉得性自尊减低。

Health.com: How to help a loved one cope with breast cancer

如何帮助所爱的人对付乳腺癌

The important thing, Derzko says, is for doctors and patients alike to acknowledge that sexual problems are a common problem after breast cancer, and to work together toward a solution.

      最重要的是，医生和患者都要意识到，乳腺癌后所遇到的性问题是很常见的 问题，医患双方要 共同努力来寻求解决问题的方法。

"It's hard enough for any woman to express sexual concerns," she says. "Add to that the problems of someone who has had breast cancer, and it becomes even more of an issue."

     对于任何一个女性来说，去表达对性的关注是很困难的，对于那些身患乳腺癌的女性来说就变成了更大的难题。