Work in our lab investigates the factors contributing to cancer survivors’ psychosocial well-being and ability to cope with after-effects of cancer, with a focus on cancer-related sexual concerns. Research in our lab has demonstrated that impairments in sexual quality of life are common, distressing, and often persist if unaddressed. Findings have also illuminated the key role that cancer survivors’ intimate relationships play in survivors’ psychosocial well-being. Collectively, work in this area has contributed to the understanding of the prevalence and nature of sexual concerns for those diagnosed and treated for cancer, thus helping to pave the way feasible, acceptable, and potentially effective interventions.

In addressing the many issues that confront cancer survivors, interpersonal relationships play a critical role, and our lab has interest in developing and evaluating couple-based interventions for cancer-related health concerns, foremost of which are sexuality and intimacy. A key objective of this work is to identify how best to help couples cope. In earlier work, we elucidated a model of coping flexibly with sexual concerns in cancer that influenced subsequent intervention development. We have found promising effects of couple-based approaches for addressing sexual concerns and enhancing intimacy and related outcomes in breast and colorectal cancer, and are currently evaluating this approach in a clinical trial. We are also extending this line of research to women with metastatic breast cancer, about whom little is known with respect to their sexual and intimacy needs and who are in particular need of survivorship-related interventions. We plan to continue this work by determining optimal methods for dissemination of these approaches, once determined effective, and by assessing the utility of couple-based approaches in enhancing other outcomes in cancer populations in future studies.

An additional major area of interest in our lab is to investigate patient-provider communication about sexual health after cancer, with the ultimate aim of integrating sexual health within cancer care. Our work in this area has been instrumental in characterizing the prevalence and nature of patient-provider communication about sexual health in cancer, elucidating patient and provider barriers and facilitators of this communication, and identifying potential paths forward to improve clinical care for sexual concerns. This work is culminating in innovative provider-focused and patient-focused interventions which hold promise for integrating sexual health into cancer care and enhancing patients’ psychosocial outcomes.