Expert details questionnaire for female partners of patients with prostate cancer

Author(s):

Key Takeaways

The SCIPPP-F uniquely addresses sexual quality of life concerns for female partners of prostate cancer patients, unlike existing measures.
It highlights issues like frustration with clinicians, communication barriers, and feelings of grief and loss.
Positive aspects include willingness to explore alternative sexual activities and the importance of maintaining intimacy beyond intercourse.
Findings suggest strategies for enhancing sexual satisfaction and intimacy, even when traditional activities are altered.

"Honestly, there really isn't another measure of sexual quality of life for females that addresses the specific concerns of the female partners of patients with prostate cancer," says Stacy Loeb, MD, MSc, PhD (hon).

In this video, Stacy Loeb, MD, MSc, PhD (hon), discusses the new the Sexual Concerns In Partners of Patients with Prostate cancer (SCIPPP-F) questionnaire. She presented a study evaluating the SCIPPP-F, “Impact of Prostate Cancer on Sexual Quality of Life for Female Partners of Patients,” at the 2024 Sexual Medicine Society of North America Fall Scientific Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. Loeb is a professor in the departments of urology and population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York.

Transcription:

How does the SCIPPP-F compare to other existing measures of sexual quality of life in this population? Are there any specific domains or aspects of sexual function that the SCIPPP-F assesses that are not captured by other instruments?

Honestly, there really isn't another measure of sexual quality of life for females that addresses the specific concerns of the female partners of patients with prostate cancer, because it's more than just their own sexual function. It is all these other things that are happening too, like feeling frustration at being ignored by clinicians, feeling like they can't communicate about their feelings about their sex life with their partner, feelings of grief and loss.

But then also, there were some positive aspects too. A lot of people expressed in the survey willingness to try other methods of sexual activity to obtain sexual satisfaction, and how intimacy is so important to them above and beyond sexual intercourse, just maintaining intimacy, even things like hugging and kissing. So I do think we have a lot that we can learn from this too, in terms of ways to help people to move forward and expand the sexual repertoire to achieve satisfaction, even if it isn't in exactly the same way as it was before.

This transcript was AI generated and edited by human editors for clarity.