Safeera Hussainy Q&A

Safeera Hussainy
Associate Professor / Senior Pharmacy Research Manager

What are you researching in lay terms?

Sexuality in cancer care - the impacts that anti-cancer therapies have on people's sexuality, which is a whole-of-body experience and includes sex, intimacy, body image, self-expression and much more.

What motivated you to come and work at Peter Mac?

I wanted to be a part of this world-class cancer centre that is at the forefront of research, education and clinical practice in cancer care. I also had a strong altruistic desire to contribute my expertise and skills in health services, sexual and reproductive and education research that I acquired through my PhD and academic work to research and education in cancer.

What drives you to achieve better outcomes for cancer patients?

Wanting to see patients have the best quality of life that is possible for them. My dad had cancer and there is nothing like the personal experience of what a family member goes through to bring you closer to the significant impact cancer has on people's lives. Having sat down with several consumers and health professionals to unpack what is the key issue for them in sexual and reproductive health, it drove me to develop my research program in sexuality so that they can have better quality of life outcomes.

How will your research improve outcomes for cancer patients?

I'm leading the co-design of a sexuality clinic at Peter Mac, which has been driven by consumers narrating their unmet needs to me and calling for action. A sexuality clinic would provide a dedicated yet integrated space for patients and their partners to discuss distressing sexual side effects and obtain expert advice on how to manage them rather than suffering in silence and shame. Research shows that 40-100% of patients with cancer, irrespective of cancer type, experience sexuality issues from anti-cancer treatments. Patients' quality of life, self-esteem and partnered relationships will improve if we can halve that prevalence through expert support and education as well as workforce training on how to initiate these sensitive conversations.

What do you like most about working for Peter Mac?

It's all about the patients - they are at the heart of our work, and so I love that everything we do, is relevant and meaningful for them. Nothing about us, without us.

Can you please detail how your research has used and benefitted from the core facilities at Peter Mac?

I collaborated with the Consumer Engagement Team at Peter Mac to reach consumers for potential involvement in my project that was initially focused on contraception in cancer that I thought was important to them based on all the literature I had read. After listening to and reflecting on consumers lived experiences, I reoriented my research focus to better align with what mattered to them - sexuality in cancer. If it were not for the Consumer Engagement Team, my research wouldn't have been meaningful and risked not being funded. Funding from the Peter Mac Foundation has allowed me to hire research personnel to execute the project, including conducting co-design workshops with consumers and health professionals at Peter Mac.