The effectiveness of “Progressive Relaxation Training” on Anxiety Tolerance and Sexual Function in Women with a History of Mastectomy

Introduction: Women with breast cancer have problems tolerating anxiety and sexual function. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of "Progressive Relaxation Training” on anxiety tolerance and sexual function in women with a history of mastectomy. Methods: The present study was a quasi-experimental pretest, posttest with a control and one-month follow-up group. The statistical population of this study included all women with breast cancer with a history of mastectomy in Babol in 2021. The samples were selected from a highly specialized radio-oncology clinic in Babol city in the number of 36 people using the purposeful sampling method and convenience method. The samples were assigned to the "Progressive Relaxation Training (18 people) and the control group (18 people) using a simple random lottery method. Data collection instruments included demographic questionnaire, the “Distress Tolerance Scale”, and the “Female Sexual Function Index”. The validity of the instruments was not measured and was limited to previous research; but reliability was measured by internal consistency method by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient. "Progressive RelaxationTraining” was performed in 10 sessions of 90 minutes (over 1.5 months) for the intervention group. Data were analyzed in SPSS. 22. Results: "Progressive RelaxationTraining"was effective on sexual function and tolerance of psychological distress in women with a history of mastectomy (P<0.01).  Conclusions: "Progressive RelaxationTraining" was effective on sexual function and distress tolerance in women with a history of mastectomy. Therefore, using the training of the above method can be recommended to reduce the psychological problems of women with a history of mastectomy.