Early-Stage Evaluation of a Novel Sexual Health Care Model for Breast Cancer Survivors Undergoing Endocrine Therapy: A Case Series

Background/Objectives: Women undergoing endocrine therapy after breast cancer often experience sexual-health concerns, but opportunities for individualized nursing support are limited. This case series implemented and preliminarily evaluated a novel sexual health-care model for women undergoing endocrine therapy after breast-cancer treatment. Methods: A care model was developed from Comfort Theory, a literature review, and clinical experience and underwent content-validity review by experts, including one nurse with lived experience of breast cancer. It was implemented individually for 6 months in five premenopausal women receiving endocrine therapy after breast-conserving surgery or total mastectomy. Data included baseline characteristics, care records, final interviews, and Self-affirmation Scale scores. Nursing goal attainment and final interviews were evaluated qualitatively. Results: All nursing goals appeared to have been achieved based on provider assessment and participants’ narratives. Participants gradually expressed distress, questions, and sexual health needs related to bodily and sexual changes, developed greater understanding of treatment-related changes, identified individualized coping strategies, and showed greater self-worth and self-care. Self-affirmation scores were descriptively higher after care. Phenomenological analysis identified four constituents: having a place to discuss a body marked by breast and fertility loss; sharing with a midwife who accepted them as they were; reconnecting with their changed bodies; and discovering new meaning in life with altered fertility and bodily integrity. Conclusions: The care model may provide a safe, individualized space for women undergoing endocrine therapy after breast cancer to express concerns, understand bodily changes, and reconstruct meaning. The findings are preliminary and represent provider-assessed observations rather than evidence of effectiveness.