Tunisian couples confronted with breast cancer

BackgroundBreast cancer have a significant impact on the life of married couples. Partners are faced with many challenges such as the heavy treatments and the body changes associated with the disease.MethodsWe conducted a study including patients treated for breast cancer in Salah Azaiz Institute. The aim was to evaluate the impact of cancer on the couple's relationship. The patients agreed to answer a marital adjustment questionnaire (MAQ).ResultsThe study included 53 patients with a mean age of 52.25 years, ranging from 34 to 72 years. At the time of the study, 83% (n=44) had been married for between 3 and 60 years, with a mean of 22.5 years and a standard deviation of 11.4. The age at marriage was 27.80±6.9 years, with extremes ranging from 15 to 50 years. Fifteen per cent of patients had no children, and the number of children ranged from 1 to 5, with an average of 2.2. The average age difference between the married women and their partners was 5.3 years, with extremes ranging from one year to 23 years. More than half of the population studied in couple had intimacy problems (n=34),. The mean marital agreement score was 81.65 [41-120]. Eight couples no longer engaged in activities together outside the home and 39.5% (n=21) of them very little. Twenty-nine patients (54.7%) said that they almost never showed affection to their partners. The study of sexual activity showed an abstinence rate of 35.8% (n=19) compared to versus 0% before cancer. A quarter of our population had less than two sexual encounters per month after the disease, compared with 20.8% (n=11) and only 10% had more than 4 intercourses per month compared with 50.9% (n=27), before treatment. Twenty patients (37.3%) frequently disagreed about the sexual relationship. Fifty-four per cent (n=29) of the patients interviewed stated that they had a sexual complaint at the time of the survey: Among them, 32% (n=17) had spoken to their partners about the subject. Twenty-two (n=12) of the patients said they could no longer confide in their partner.ConclusionsBreast cancer requires adjustments in married life, but with mutual support and open communication, couples can overcome these challenges together.Legal entity responsible for the studyThe authors.FundingHas not received any funding.DisclosureAll authors have declared no conflicts of interest.