Cancer and Your Sexual Well-Being
Today we are talking about how cancer affects our sexuality and how the medical community can help us deal with the challenges brought on by the course of the disease as well as the treatments.
Dr. Boatman's specialty is the AYA population, or Adolescents and Young Adults- this means anyone from 15-39 years old. However, you can benefit from this information at any age!
In Part One, we talk about Dr. Boatman's research, how she conducted it, and who can benefit from the conclusions. We talk about how cancer affects social and emotional health, how this population responds differently to cancer treatments and the barriers to getting the sexual health information you want. We learn the term "self of the therapist" and how to tell if your provider is doing their own personal work. We talk about the guidelines for treating sexual health issues she created for providers and she gives you some tips on how you can advocate for yourself.
In Part Two, we talk about Dr. Boatman's research, how she conducted it, and who can benefit from the conclusions. We talk about the Therapeutic Alliance and how important it is to create a trustworthy network of medical providers. She talks about working with family systems and their dynamics during cancer treatment and how maintaining compassion is the key.
We cover the three main themes that came out of her research:
1)How does a provider determine what is developmentally appropriate sexual health information and treatment
2) What information and sexual health knowledge should a provider have
3) What sort of information and assessments should be given. Dr. Boatman talks about fertility and pelvic floor health during cancer treatments and how to have these important conversations with your providers.
Finally, she talks about the special needs of the LGBTQIA population during cancer treatments.
Dr. Beth Boatman completed her Ph.D. in Family Therapy at Texas Woman’s University with a primary research focus in adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology, medical family therapy, and sexual/relationship health.
The title of her dissertation is: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE SEXUAL HEALTH CONVERSATIONS WITH ADOLESCENT AND YOUNG ADULT ONCOLOGY PATIENTS
She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Texas and a Certified Sexuality Educator-Supervisor with AASECT. For the past 10 years, she has been providing sexual health education and presentations aimed at enhancing the health and wellness of her community. Her most recent adventure is being a new mama.
Email Dr. Boatman at Beth@YourSensualHealth.com
Here is a copy of the document you can take into your provider to help start the conversations