Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The long-term reproductive health impact of cancer treatments is a concern for premenopausal women with a history of breast cancer. This study examined the unmet sexual and reproductive health needs of breast cancer survivors, as well as concordances and discordances in needs by childbearing status and race. We interviewed 17 women diagnosed with breast cancer between the ages of 18 and 45 years and living in North Carolina. To analyze these data, we used the Sort and Sift, Think and Shift© method, a multidimensional qualitative analysis approach. We learned that breast cancer survivors (a) received limited reproductive health information, (b) desired realistic expectations of conceiving postcancer, (c) struggled with adjusting to their altered physical appearance, and (d) had menopause symptoms that led to sexual health and quality of life issues. Breast cancer survivors are in need of and desire more education and resources to address their sexual and reproductive health concerns.

Keywords

breast cancer premenopausal survivorship sexual health reproductive health qualitative interviews North Carolina United States of America

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Cancer Society. (2017). Breast cancer facts & figures 2017-2018. https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/breast-cancer-facts-and-figures/breast-cancer-facts-and-figures-2017-2018.pdf

Avis

N. E.

Crawford

Manuel

(2004). Psychosocial problems among younger women with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 13(5), 295–308. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.744

Azim

H. A.

Santoro

Pavlidis

Gelber

Kroman

Azim

Peccatori

F. A.

(2011). Safety of pregnancy following breast cancer diagnosis: A meta-analysis of 14 studies. European Journal of Cancer, 47(1), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2010.09.007

Barton

D. L.

Ganz

P. A.

(2015). Symptoms: Menopause, infertility, and sexual health. In Ganz

P. A.

(Ed.), Improving outcomes for breast cancer survivors: Perspectives on research challenges and opportunities (pp. 115–141). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16366-6_9

Bouchlariotou

Tsikouras

Benjamin

Neulen

(2012). Fertility sparing in cancer patients. Journal of the Society for Minimally Invasive Therapy, 21(4), 282–292. https://doi.org/10.3109/13645706.2011.611520

Camp-Sorrell

(2009). Cancer and its treatment effect on young breast cancer survivors. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 25(4), 251–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2009.08.002

Cho

Jung

S.-Y.

Lee

J. E.

Shim

E.-J.

Kim

N. H.

Kim

. . . Lee

M. H.

(2014). A review of breast cancer survivorship issues from survivors’ perspectives. Journal of Breast Cancer, 17(3), 189–199. https://doi.org/10.4048/jbc.2014.17.3.189

Creswell

J. W.

(2015). 30 essential skills for the qualitative researcher. Sage.

Crowley

S. A.

Foley

S. M.

Wittmann

Jagielski

C. H.

Dunn

R. L.

Clark

P. M.

. . . Janz

N. K.

(2016). Sexual health concerns among cancer survivors: Testing a novel information-need measure among breast and prostate cancer patients. Journal of Cancer Education, 31(3), 588–594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0865-5

10.

Friedlander

Thewes

(2003). Counting the costs of treatment: The reproductive and gynaecological consequences of adjuvant therapy in young women with breast cancer. Internal Medicine Journal, 33(8), 372–379. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1445-5994.2003.00377.x

11.

Gelber

Coates

A. S.

Goldhirsch

Castiglione-Gertsch

Marini

Lindtner

. . . Gelber

R. D.

(2001). Effect of pregnancy on overall survival after the diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 19(6), 1671–1675. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2001.19.6.1671

12.

Ginter

A. C.

Braun

(2017). Single female breast cancer patients’ perspectives on intimate relationships. Qualitative Health Research, 27(10), 1461–1472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732316644431

13.

Gorman

J. R.

Usita

P. M.

Madlensky

Pierce

J. P.

(2011). Young breast cancer survivors: Their perspectives on treatment decisions and fertility concerns. Cancer Nursing, 34(1), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0b013e3181e4528d

14.

Halley

M. C.

May

S. G.

Rendle

K. A. S.

Frosch

D. L.

Kurian

A. W.

(2014). Beyond barriers: Fundamental “disconnects” underlying the treatment of breast cancer patients’ sexual health. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 16(9), 1169–1180. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2014.939227

15.

Hamilton

B. E.

Martin

J. A.

Osterman

M. J. K.

(2016). Births: Preliminary data for 2015. National Vital Statistics Reports, 65(3). http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_03.pdf

16.

Herbenick

Reece

Hollub

Satinsky

Dodge

(2008). Young female breast cancer survivors: Their sexual function and interest in sexual enhancement products and services. Cancer Nursing, 31(6), 417–425. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NCC.0000339252.91194.6c

17.

Hickey

Peate

Saunders

C. M.

Friedlander

(2009). Breast cancer in young women and its impact on reproductive function. Human Reproduction Update, 15(3), 323–339. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmn064

18.

Ives

Saunders

Bulsara

Semmens

(2007). Pregnancy after breast cancer: Population based study. The British Medical Journal, 334(7586), 194. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39035.667176.55

19.

Johnson

Posner

S. F.

Biermann

Cordero

J. F.

Atrash

H. K.

Parker

C. S.

. . . Curtis

M. G.

(2006). Recommendations to improve preconception health and health care—United States. A report of the CDC/ATSDR preconception care work group and the select panel on preconception care. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 55(RR-6), 1–23.

20.

Knobf

M. T.

(2002). Carrying on: The experience of premature menopause in women with early stage breast cancer. Nursing Research, 51(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006199-200201000-00003

21.

Kroman

Jensen

M.-B.

Wohlfahrt

Ejlertsen

(2008). Pregnancy after treatment of breast cancer—A population-based study on behalf of Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group. Acta Oncologica, 47(4), 545–549. https://doi.org/10.1080/02841860801935491

22.

Lewis

P. E.

Sheng

Rhodes

M. M.

Jackson

K. E.

Schover

L. R.

(2012). Psychosocial concerns of young African American breast cancer survivors. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 30(2), 168–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/07347332.2011.651259

23.

Love

S. M.

Lindsey

(2010). Dr. Susan Love’s breast book (5th ed.). A Merloyd Lawrence Book.

24.

M. C.

Halfon

(2003). Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes: A life-course perspective. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 7(1), 13–30. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1022537516969

25.

Maietta

R. C.

(2006). State of the art: Integrating software with qualitative analysis. In Curry

Shield

Wetle

(Eds.), Improving aging and public health research: Qualitative and mixed methods (pp. 117–139). American Public Health Association and the Gerontological Society of America.

26.

Maietta

R. C.

Hamilton

Swartout

Mihas

Petruzzelli

(2020). Sort and sift, think and shift: Let the data be your guide. In Qualitative data analysis camp. ResearchTalk.

27.

Marino

J. L.

Saunders

C. M.

Emery

L. I.

Green

Doherty

D. A.

Hickey

(2016). How does adjuvant chemotherapy affect menopausal symptoms, sexual function, and quality of life after breast cancer? Menopause, 23(9), 1000–1008. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000000664

28.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

Saldaña

(2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage.

29.

Moos

M.-K.

(2010). From concept to practice: Reflections on the preconception health agenda. Journal of Women’s Health, 19(3), 561–567. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2009.1411

30.

Mueller

B. A.

Simon

M. S.

Deapen

Kamineni

Malone

K. E.

Daling

J. R.

(2003). Childbearing and survival after breast carcinoma in young women. Cancer, 98(6), 1131–1140. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.11634

31.

Nichols

H. B.

Schoemaker

M. J.

Wright

L. B.

McGowan

Brook

M. N.

McClain

K. M.

. . . Swerdlow

A. J.

(2017). The Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaboration: A pooling project of studies participating in the National Cancer Institute Cohort Consortium. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 26(9), 1360–1369. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-17-0246

32.

Pagani

Partridge

Korde

Badve

Bartlett

Albain

. . . Goldhirsch

(2011). Pregnancy after breast cancer: If you wish, ma’am. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 129(2), 309–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-011-1643-7

33.

Sankila

Heinävaara

Hakulinen

(1994). Survival of breast cancer patients after subsequent term pregnancy: “Healthy mother effect.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 170(3), 818–823. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9378(94)70290-x

34.

Valachis

Tsali

Pesce

L. L.

Polyzos

N. P.

Dimitriadis

Tsalis

Mauri

(2010). Safety of pregnancy after primary breast carcinoma in young women: A meta-analysis to overcome bias of healthy mother effect studies. Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, 65(12), 786–793. https://doi.org/10.1097/OGX.0b013e31821285bf

The Other Side of Through: Young Breast Cancer Survivors’ Spectrum of Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References