The 2023 ISSM/SMSNA Sub-Saharan Africa Training Program in Oncosexology!
The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM), the Kenya Society for Hematology and Oncology (KESHO), and the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) have partnered to build on the educational programs on sexual medicine and sexual health, brought to Kenya and East Africa in 2019 and 2021, by offering a 9-month training program designed for clinicians in cancer care who wish to address sexual health with their cancer patients.
The ISSM/KESHO/SMSNA Sub-Saharan Africa Training Program in Oncosexology was aimed to equip multidisciplinary clinicians in cancer care with baseline skills to start conversations with patients and their partners about the impact of cancer on their sexuality and about rehabilitation. The goal of the program was to help individuals and couples coping with cancer restore the ability to have satisfying sexual lives. The program has been delivered by international faculty with expertise in sexual health and by African faculty with additional knowledge of cultural issues that impact sexual health.
Program Committee
The sessions are being composed by the ISSM/SMSNA program committee;
Luca Incrocci is Professor of Genito-Urinary Radiotherapy and sexologist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He received his M.D. in 1992 at the University of Pisa, Italy, and then joined the University Hospital Rotterdam to complete residencies in the Departments of Urology and Radiation Oncology. He is actively involved in the teaching and research of fellows and students. Prof. Incrocci is a member of several scientific societies including the European Association of Urology, the European and International Societies for Sexual Medicine. Prof. Incrocci is a manuscript reviewer for a number of international journals; he is Associate Editor of the European Journal of Sexual Health and is the Past-President of the International Society for Sexual Medicine. Prof. Incrocci is the author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters and has co-edited the books: Handbook of Sexual and Gender Identity Disorder and Cancer and Sexual Function.
Dr. Wittmann is an Associate Professor Emerita of Urology and Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work. She is a lead faculty in the Brandon Prostate Cancer Survivorship Program with clinical and research interest in sexual health and quality of life in cancer survivorship. She uses mixed methods to understand issues in cancer survivorship care and to evaluate interventions designed to improve patients' and partners' outcomes. She is faculty in the Mixed Methods Research Program at the University of Michigan. She is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Dr. Lawrence C. Jenkins received his MD from the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He finished his urology training at the University of Miami and followed that with a fellowship in Male Sexual and Reproductive Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, NY. Dr. Jenkins practices at the Tulane University Department of Urology, as an Associate Professor, where he focuses on male sexual and reproductive medicine.
Dr. Miriam Mutebi is a Consultant Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. She is also a clinical epidemiologist and health systems researcher with a research focus on understanding barriers to access for women with cancers in Sub-Saharan Africa and in designing interventions to mitigate those barriers.
She is the President Elect of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), the Chairperson for the Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology (KESHO) and on the board of directors of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). She is also the co-founder of the Pan African Women’s Association of Surgeons (PAWAS-www.africanwomensurgeons.org) which was developed to mentor and provide transformative leadership for women in surgery in order to improve surgical care and pathology on the continent and is part of the Kenya Association of Women Surgeons.
She is the Co-chair of the National Cancer Taskforce in Kenya, Chair of the Commonwealth Taskforce for the elimination of Cervical Cancer and a commissioner with three Lancet commissions of Women and cancer, Cancer in sub-Saharan Africa and Breast Cancer. She is currently pursuing a pilot's licence in order to extend breast care services to marginalised areas.
Philip Odiyo Ouma is currently working as Patient Support Manager at Faraja Cancer Support Trust in Nairobi and Eldoret. His passion for Psycho-Oncology began 15 years ago. Besides having a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology, he is currently studying for a research doctoral degree at Erasmus University (Netherlands). Philip’s was selected for a Clinical Observership and training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York where he was mentored by Dr. Jimmie Holland under the Union for International Cancer Control Fellowship in 2014. Besides, his work at Faraja. Philip is also a fellow at the Association of Union for International Cancer Control Fellows and was awarded Naomi Stearns Fellow in 2018 for his role in developing psychosocial oncology in Kenya. Philip was elected in 2019 as a Director representing Africa in the International Psycho-Oncology Organization
Philip Odiyo is currently the Secretary for Prostate Cancer Support Association in Kenya and a board member at Kenyan Network of Cancer Organizations; he is also a committee member representing developing countries at the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) and the Vice President of Association for Psycho-Oncology Society in Africa.
Philip has presented in several IPOS meetings in Rotterdam (2013), Portugal (2014) and Berlin (2017). He has been actively involved in IPOS Academies in Durban (2013), Marrakech (2015) and Kigali (2016) and the 2019 Annual Fall Scientific meeting in Nashville, TN, USA. He was instrumental in the organization for the first ISSM/SMSNA Sexual Health conference in 2019 in Nairobi Kenya and the ongoing planning for the East African Virtual ISSM/SMSNA Virtual Sexual Health Symposium in December 2021.
He is a reviewer in the following Journals: The Breast Journal, Supportive Care in Cancer, e-Cancer Journal and Psycho-Oncology: Journal of Psychological, Social and behavioural dimensions of cancer.
Program Format
The program consisted of monthly 90-minute sessions, with didactic and case consultation components. Participants had an opportunity to submit cases for discussion, based on the topic of any particular session.
Program objectives:
Educate participants about the impact of cancer treatments on sexual health of patients, partners and couples
Educate participants about sexual rehabilitation strategies after cancer treatment
Provide consultation on actual clinical cases
Encourage a robust discussion of cultural issues that influence patients’ and partners’ experience of sexual problems after cancer treatment and recovery of sexual intimacy
This program was designed for oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, physical therapists, and trainees located in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Certification of attendance/completion have been awarded to anyone who completes 80% (7) of the 9 sessions.
CPD points were awarded for participants from Kenya.
Past sessions
January 25, 2023: Biopsychosocial approach to sexuality
February 22, 2023: Sexual health assessment
March 29, 2023: The impact of radiation on sexuality and a multidisciplinary approach
April 26, 2023: The impact of surgery on sexuality
May 31, 2023: The impact of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy on sexuality and a multidisciplinary approach
June 28, 2023: Fertility preservation
July 26, 2023: Managing sexual side-effects of cancer and its treatment as an individual
August 30, 2023: Managing sexual side-effects of cancer in a relationship
September 27, 2023: Implementing onco-sexology practice in your setting
All sessions took place at 05.00PM EAT (EAT = UTC +3)