Aim: The study was to assess psychosexual functioning of women after breast cancer treatment, since this problem is very rarely discussed in Polish professional literature.
Methods: Our study involved 103 women after breast cancer treatment. The questionnaire was based on the Likert scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the authors' own questions.
Results: Some 52% of respondents were operated in 2002-2008; 93% had a radical mastectomy or a breast-sparing operation without reconstruction. About 71% accepted themselves before falling ill, and 65% regarded themselves as pretty. After surgery 57% felt attractive as sexual partners, 48.5% found it difficult to look at themselves naked, and 37.9% were embarrassed in their partners' presence. Some 26.21% of the women had a very good and 42.71% had a satisfactory sexual life before the disease. Following surgery, 54% did not notice any changes in their partners' behaviour, 14% avoided intimate situations, and 11% have not had sexual intercourse since the operation.
Conclusions: In the relationships where sex was important, the quality of sexual intercourse improved. A factor which contributes to successful sexual life of a woman is her acceptance of her body and her feeling of attractiveness.