Sexual Function in Serious Illness: Areej El-Jawahri, Sharon Bober, and Don Dizon
episode
GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast
51 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 9 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Why is sexual health considered a top concern for cancer survivors?
Welcome to the Jerry Powell Podcast. This is Eric Widera. This
is Alex
Smith. And Alex, who do we have with us today?
We are delighted to welcome back Areej Aljawari, who's an oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, who specializes in blood cancers. And she gave a talk about about research in sexual health and cancer at the State of the Science meeting a few months ago. I was in the other room, but heard laughter coming from that room and heard great things about her talk, so invited her to join us today. Arish, welcome back to Jerry Pal.
Hi, thank you so much for having me back. It's a great topic to be talking about, and humor is the best way to talk about this topic, I will tell you.
We're looking forward to this. We are also delighted to welcome Sharon Bober, who's a clinical psychologist and founding director of the Sexual Health Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Sharon, welcome to Jerry Powell.
So nice to be here. Thank you.
And we're delighted to welcome Don Dazon, who is an oncologist who specializes in pelvic malignancies and is founder of the Oncology Sexual Health First Responders Program at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University. Don, welcome to Jerry Powell. Thank you so much.
So we got a lot to cover today on sexuality, sexual health and serious illness. But before we do, Sharon, do you have a song request for Alex?
Oh, gosh, a song request. Well, I can never go wrong when I think of Lady Gaga. So maybe maybe something in that domain.
Alex, do you have a Lady Gaga song you're ready for?
Well, I love Lady Gaga as an artist. And we don't think we've ever done Lady Gaga on this podcast. So this is the first time we're doing Lady Gaga. And so it seemed like Bad Romance is a fitting tune. Here's a little bit. Rah, rah, rah, rah, rah. Ro-ma, ro-ma-ma. Ga, ga, ooh-la-la. I want your bad romance.
I want your ugly. I want your disease. I want your everything as long as it's free. I want your love. Love, love, love. I want your love. I want your drama, the touch of your hand I want your leather studded kiss in the sand I want your love, love, love, love I want your love
Oh Oh Oh Oh Wow, that
was fantastic.
Sharon, I got to ask you, why Lady Gaga? And how did you feel about the song pick?
You know, like I said, I just don't think you ever can go wrong with Lady Gaga. She's an amazing artist. And, you know, I guess it was kind of topical for the podcast today. So good choice.
I'm going to start off. So we've got a lot to cover on sexualities, sexual health, and serious illness. I missed your talk, The State of the Science. Tell me, what did you talk about?
So at the State of the Science, I was actually presenting a study that was focused on addressing sexual health concerns in transplant survivors. And I actually told the story of the State of the Science for those of you who were there. But, you know, as you know, I'm a palliative care researcher and supportive care researcher. So never in a million years when I started sort of working in the clinic thought, would I ever be doing sexual health work? And it actually came up during a clinical encounter that I had. So I was taking care of a young woman who was 31, had leukemia, had a stem cell transplant, and I had seen her for her two-year follow-up visit. And she was doing actually great. She was off immunosuppression.
Her disease was in remission. So it was more of a social visit. And here I am considering myself all palliative care or supportive care. I address all the supportive care needs of my patients. And as I was walking literally outside of the room, she said, Dr. Al-Jawari, can I ask you one question before you leave? And I said, sure. And she's like, is it okay for me to kiss my husband now? So this is about two and a half, three years out from leukemia diagnosis. And I had that mortified look on my face of, God, we haven't really talked about this. We haven't even talked about your sexual health, your intimacy. I didn't realize you haven't been kissing your husband for the past two and a half, three years.
And I work right next to Don at the time.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is sexual health considered a top concern for cancer survivors?
0:00–5:25
2
How did Areej El‑Jawahri’s clinical encounter spark interest in sexual health research?
5:25–11:19
3
What motivated Don Dizon to create the Oncology Sexual Health First Responders Program?
11:19–18:54
4
Which psychological barriers prevent clinicians from discussing sexual health with patients?
18:54–24:40
5
What practical tools (e.g., pelvic exams, pelvic PT) can clinicians use for female patients?
24:40–31:29
6
How do clinicians decide between daily vs. PRN phosphodiesterase‑5 inhibitors and other ED treatments?
31:29–36:44
7
What are the recommended approaches for managing vaginal dryness, atrophy, and graft‑versus‑host disease?
36:44–42:39
8
Where can providers find up‑to‑date guidelines and patient resources for sexual health in serious illness?
42:39–51:45
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast
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