Abstract
- 99 IX- SUMMARY We aimed to analyse anxiety, depression, personality traits, stress ef fects, and sexual lives of women with gynecological cancer; who had already undergone TAH+BSO because of malign reasons, and then sent to the Oncolo gical Institute of the University of Istanbul for postoperative radiotherapy tre atment. 45 women were interviewed; earliest within 3 months, and latest wit hin 14 months of their operation. As the Control Group, 50 women who had undergone TAH+BSO in Istanbul University Gynecological Clinic because of benign reasons were chosen, and interviewed also between 3 months and w year after the operation. The interviews were conducted in the Clinic of Gyne cology, invitations being despatched by post. The second control group consisted of 30 healthy women, with no serio us gynecological complaints. Half of these controls were women accompanying patients to Halkalı Regional Clinic. In the interviews with controls, an anamnesis form consisting of 23 qu estions were asked to be filled, and then `Stressful Events Question List`, `So urce of Stress` Test, Spielberger Self-Rating Form, (TX1)(TX2) Zung Self-Ra ting Depression Scale, and boldness, self-image, guilt, agressiveness, and am bition parts of Eysenck Personality Inventory. All the questions were read by the interviewer and literate controls were asked to mark the answers themsel ves. The answers of illiterate controls were marked by the interviewer. The analyses of the results are as follows: 1- Anxiety is not seen in patients who have undergone TAH+BSO and RT treatments because of malign reasons. 2- Frequency of depression in gynecologic cancer patients undergoing TAH+BSO and RT increases. 3- The gynecological cancer patients in the oncological group find conf licts in human relationships more stressful compared to the women in the nor-100 mal group. 4- Being deprived of close relationship with parents in early childhood can be thought to increase liability to cancer. 5- Women cancer patients show some aspects of Type `C` behaviour; however there is no statistically meaningful correlation between them. 6-TAH+BSO and RT affect sexual lives of women extremely negati vely. Apart from negative outcomes of treatments, being wrongly informed, fears, ongoing depression, feelings of guilt, and decreased self confidence are thought to play a part in sexual dysfunctions.
