Lecture to Discuss Women, Cancer and Sexuality

NOTE: A list of sites where the lecture will be available by video conference follows this release.

Women, cancer and sexuality is the topic of the next Cancer Answers lecture Tuesday, Nov. 15.

The Cancer Care Nova Scotia event will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Royal Bank Lecture Theatre of the Halifax Infirmary, 1796 Summer St. and by videoconference at 17 sites across the province.

The lecture series is designed to provide Nova Scotians with quality cancer information. The lecture will be presented by Dr. Deborah McLeod, a member of the psychosocial oncology team with the Capital Health Cancer Care Program.

"Sexual health concerns rate high in the list of unmet needs for women dealing with cancer, with about 50 per cent of women indicating sexuality as a concern for them for many years after treatment," said Dr. McLeod. "Unfortunately both women and health care professionals hesitate to raise these concerns leading to unnecessary distress for women and their partners.

"The presentation will help open conversation about sexuality and cancer for women and provide information about the issues and how to get help for sexual concerns."

Cancer Care Nova Scotia, a program of the Department of Health and Wellness, was created in 1998 to facilitate quality cancer prevention and care for all Nova Scotians. It supports health professionals in providing patients with high quality care.

Its work with other organizations and its screening programs raise awareness about the importance of healthy lifestyles to reduce cancer risk, and educate Nova Scotians about available testing such as Pap tests for cervical cancer and Home Screening Kits for colon cancer. The goal is to find cancer earlier and treat it better.

The lecture will be available by video conference at these sites:

• Aberdeen Hospital, New Glasgow
• Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney
• Colchester Regional Hospital, Truro
• Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre, Amherst
• Dartmouth General Hospital, Dartmouth
• Digby General Hospital, Digby
• Guysborough Memorial Hospital, Guysborough
• Hants Community Hospital, Windsor
• Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital, Tatamagouche
• Roseway Hospital, Shelburne
• Soldier’s Memorial Hospital, Middleton
• St. Martha's Regional, Antigonish
• Strait Richmond Hospital, Cleveland
• South Shore Regional Hospital, Bridgewater
• Valley Regional Hospital, Kentville
• Victoria County Memorial Hospital, Baddeck
• Yarmouth Regional Hospital, Yarmouth