Analysis of Sexual Life Quality and Marital Satisfaction in Women with Breast Cancer: Turkish Sample

This descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study analysed the sexual life quality and marital satisfaction of Turkish women with breast cancer. The sample comprised 300 married women (18 years old and above) with breast cancer, who presented to two public hospitals in Samsun, western Turkey. The data collection procedure involved a personal information form, the Sexual Life Quality Questionnaire and the Marital Satisfaction Scale, and the data analysis comprised percentages, one-way ANOVA, t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis. The patients' (p ≤ 0.04) and spouses' (p ≤ 0.00) education levels and type of marriage (p ≤ 0.00) showed significant differences in relation to marital satisfaction, and marital satisfaction and sexual life quality were significantly positively correlated (p ≤ 0.00). Further, educational background and type of marriage showed significant differences regarding marital satisfaction (p ≤ 0.00). Nurses should inform women diagnosed with breast cancer about marriage and sexuality using a holistic approach, and the women and their spouses should receive psychosocial support.