The aBRCAdabra association has signed an agreement to concretely support the patients who can benefit from this therapy not reimbursed by the national health service. Among the most common side effects of anticancer therapies, in particular hormone therapy, is atrophy
They are silent out of modesty, embarrassment, resignation. And in the meantime they suffer a personal and often couple crisis, after having had to deal with a tumor. The intimate life of many cancer patients is overwhelmed by cancer and although there are several remedies they can use, there are two main obstacles they must overcome: first, talking to a doctor who can help them; second, they often have to pay the subsidies out of their own pockets.aBRCAdabra association: donate 5×1000, for a total of 30 thousand euros, to concretely help women suffering from vaginal atrophy following anti-cancer treatments to have access to a specific laser treatment, not reimbursed by the national health system.
Natural or drug-induced menopause
Vaginal dryness and pain during sexual intercourse are certainly the most frequently reported ailments by women treated for cancer. Problems mainly due to hormonal therapies used to combat the disease, but also very frequent in “healthy” women who go through menopause: “After menopause and in particular after menopause induced by medical or surgical therapies, the lack of sex hormones that were produced from the ovaries (in particular estrogen and progesterone) causes a lack of lubrication of the vaginal mucosa and causes a further loss of elasticity – explains Marco Gambacciani, gynecologist scientific reference of the aBRCAdabra project and president of the Italian Menopause Society -. It has an effect with the reduction of secretions even during intercourse which involves pain, but also the appearance of genital and urinary infections with recurrent cystitis. The therapy requires estrogen which in many women is however contraindicated so it is necessary to use alternative treatments such as the non-ablative Erbium Fotona laser. A cycle consists of three applications at a distance of one month from each other, with the possibility of repeating it and the duration is about one year. During the application there is no pain, but there is a sensation of heat ».
Premature menopause before age 40: cases on the rise
A cancer diagnosis “interrupts” people’s lives in many ways, including intimacy. Although sexual intercourse is not the first thought of patients and their partners, especially in light of the growing number of healings also in Italy, it is essential to pay attention to this aspect as well for a full recovery of people’s quality of life. Due to various ailments, however, sexual relations become difficult or impossible, with negative repercussions on the couple’s relationship, but there are several solutions that can help the sick. “There is also an increase in young women who, before the age of 40, are experiencing an early menopause due to the outcomes of oncological therapies or for preventive surgery indicated in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer for carriers of the BRCA 1 gene mutation and 2 – underlines the president of aBRCAdabra, Ornella Campanella -. Women who often cannot resort to hormone replacement therapy. The decision to donate the 5X1000 to this project is also a way to give concrete feedback to all those who support the association and respond to a need for health that is not listened to “.
The convention for laser treatments
The agreement with the medical centers associated with Vela Academy distributed throughout the national territory
who use laser technology to alleviate the undesirable effect of oncological therapies can allow women to access this treatment with a total cost of 900 euros. The first session is offered by the affiliated medical office, the second of 300 euros is paid by the associated woman and the third is paid by aBRCAdabra with a saving of 600 euros for each woman who will use the treatment. The first 100 will be able to benefit from the agreement who will be booked by writing to [email protected], while all the others will have a 30% discount. «Above all, patients, but also healthy BRCA mutation carriers who choose risk reduction surgery, struggle to bring out the needs related to the sexual sphere – concludes Campanella -. Specialists’ studies focus on cancer treatment and prevention, but intimacy is an integral part of everyone’s life. It is not an aesthetic question or a whim. Because of the feared vaginal dryness induced by menopause, many young women even postpone preventive surgery (tube and ovary removal) which protects them from getting cancer ».
January 27, 2022 (change January 27, 2022 | 18:20)
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