Vaginal dryness is one of the common side effects among cancer patients during or after treatment. This symptom is associated with the onset of menopausal genitourinary syndrome related to the treatment of breast cancer (surgery, hormone therapy, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy).

Among the patients treated for this type of cancer, it is estimated that around 50 to 60% will develop this syndrome whose symptoms include, in addition to vaginal dryness, burning when urinating, pain in the lower abdomen, recurrent urinary tract infection, loss of urine, pain during sexual intercourse or for tests, bleeding, itching, a loose vaginal feeling.

The treatments available so far have some limitations, such as a short-term effect, the risk of absorption into the blood (in the case of using hormones) and stimulation of tumor cells, and the high cost.

This study, genuinely Brazilian and Soteropolitan, coordinated by Dr. Daniela Barros, an oncologist and specialist in female cancers, and by Dr. Patrícia Lordêlo, a physiotherapist and specialist in gynecology, seeks to improve the quality of life of patients who have had breast cancer, through the combination of pelvic physiotherapy and the use of vaginal LEDs.

The protocol includes carrying out five sessions of pelvic physiotherapy associated with the blue Light Emitting Diode (LED), due to its healing potential, with an interval of seven days between them, the monitoring of symptoms through detailed questionnaires and the collection of a 'simplified preventative'.

The research is carried out at the Pelvic Floor Care Center, which operates at the Patrícia Lordêlo Institute in Salvador-Bahia, focusing on patients who have been treated for breast cancer and are cured, up to 65 years of age.

To find out more, check out the live broadcast on Instagram from the Cura Project Institute with the coordinators of this research.

Text by Renata Ettinger

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