Kamasutra to Stigma: India’s Sexual Duality

Abstract

Decade-long work in psycho-oncology underpins this special issue, and I am honored to serve as Guest Editor for the Indian Journal of Health, Sexuality and Culture and shed some light on this theme.
Across the globe, sexual dysfunction affects up to 90% of female cancer survivors and 40% of males, stemming from various treatment modalities like chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and hormone therapies that impair sexual intimacy, arousal, and libido during and exist beyond treatment (1-3). For many survivors, these changes persist long after the visible signs of cancer care have ended. Yet, sexuality remains an ignored, neglected, or neglected topic from diagnosis through survivorship.