If all breast centers had Dr Ruth as a faculty member, there would be no need to write this article. But they do not. It is important to bring up this sensitive topic early in your interactions with your breast cancer patients. Usually the first thing a woman worries about, however, is her mortality. Is she going to survive her breast cancer diagnosis? After she realizes that she probably will, her focus often shifts to her sexuality and body-image concerns. Will she lose her breast to this disease? Will she appear disfigured in the eyes of her partner and/or herself? What impact will her breast cancer treatment have on her body image? On her sex life? These are all valid concerns that are rarely discussed by the oncology specialists taking care of her. Their focus is on saving her life and not necessarily spending their consultation time and treatment sessions discussing quality-of-life issues.
