Start with research
After talking with a patient who had beaten cancer but lost her marriage, Dr. Saketh Guntupalli was struck emotionally at first, and then intellectually in the form of a research question: “Do we really know what is the incidence of marital and sexual dysfunction in people that have cancer?”
That started a study that looked at 350 women around the United States. Among other things, the research team found that 15 percent of women had what Guntupalli described as “significant problems with sexual and marital dysfunction” after a gynecologic cancer diagnosis – and that fully 70 percent experienced sexual dysfunction, “which is a huge number.”
So it was like, whoa, this is a really, really big problem.
Dr. Saketh Guntupalli
How the research led to a book
Getting inspiration from your patients
An encounter with a patient led to an a-ha moment that inspired a University of Colorado gynecologic oncologist to write a book about a challenge experienced by many of his patients.
Dr. Saketh Guntupalli partnered with another patient and writer Maryann Karinch to provide a resource for women struggling with having a sexual relationship after treatment for cancer.
I wanted to write the book to help women like Maryann regain much of what they lost after their cancer diagnosis, especially sexual intimacy and healthy sexual relationships. Dr. Saketh Guntupalli