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Navigating sexual health in cancer survivorship: a dyadic perspective

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Abstract

Purpose

This qualitative study examined how young adult breast cancer survivors (YABCS) and their partners appraised and managed their sexual health and intimate relationships after cancer.

Methods

We conducted concurrent, individual telephone interviews with 25 YABCS and their male partners. We utilized a thematic, inductive analysis to examine individual interviews, followed by analysis within and across couples to identify dyadic themes. We explored how themes mapped on to the Theory of Dyadic Illness Management to build a conceptual model specific to the sexual health challenges of young adult couples living with cancer.

Results

Our analysis revealed five interconnected themes: (1) shared understanding of physical and psychological challenges of sexual health after cancer, (2) navigating role shifts and changes to sexual relationship, (3) getting through it as a team, (4) maintaining open communication, and (5) need for services and support for partners/caregivers and couples.

Conclusion

Both survivors and their partners articulated physical (e.g., painful sex, decreased libido) and psychological (e.g., guilt, self-consciousness) challenges to their sexual health in survivorship. Our dyadic focus revealed a spectrum of ways that couples managed the changes to their relationships and sexual health, highlighting “open communication” and strategies for “working as a team” as critical. There is no “one size fits all” solution, as individuals and couples cope with and manage these challenges in different ways. Study results can inform couple-focused intervention strategies, such as creating shared understanding of sexual health after cancer and improving communication skills.

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Acknowledgments

Recruitment was facilitated by Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation’s Army of Women. We would like to thank the cancer survivors and their partners who participated in this study.

Funding

This work was funded by Oregon State University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, 2250 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Jessica R. Gorman, Ellie Smith, Julia H. Drizin & S. Marie Harvey

  2. William F. Connell School of Nursing, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA

    Karen S. Lyons

Authors
  1. Jessica R. Gorman
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  2. Ellie Smith
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  3. Julia H. Drizin
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  4. Karen S. Lyons
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica R. Gorman.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Protection of human subjects

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Oregon State University Human Research Protection Program, protocol 7621) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Gorman, J.R., Smith, E., Drizin, J.H. et al. Navigating sexual health in cancer survivorship: a dyadic perspective. Support Care Cancer 28, 5429–5439 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05396-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05396-y

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