There is a growing body of research showing that cancer impacts upon the sexuality of informal carers in a couple relationship with a person with cancer. However, this research is primarily focused on partners of a person with gynaecological or breast cancer, within a framework where the physiological effects of cancer on sexual performance are the focus. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 informal carers in a couple relationship with a person with cancer, across a range of cancer types. The aim was to explore accounts of changes to sexuality and intimacy post-cancer, in the context of discursive constructions of sexuality and the caring role. Our findings show that partners’ sexual experiences were shaped by absence of desire in the person with cancer; the stress and exhaustion associated with caring tasks; the repositioning of the person with cancer as childlike or as an asexual ‘sick patient’; and the belief that there were expectations about ‘acceptable’ sexual conduct in the context of cancer caring. Carers accepted the diminishment of their sexual relationship, but expressed feelings of disappointment, anger and sadness about this loss. It is concluded that it is vital that support services are developed, so that couples may develop new sexual strategies, and cope more effectively with potential disruptions to their sexual and intimate relationship.
Anderson, B.L. and Golden-Kreutz, D.M. ( 2000). Sexual self-concept for the women with cancer. In L. Baider, C.L. Cooper and A.K. De-Nour (Eds.), Cancer and the family, pp. 311-16. London: John Wiley & Sons.
2.
Anllo, L.M. ( 2000). Sexual life after breast cancer. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 26(3), 241-8.
3.
Baider, L. and De-Nour, J. ( 2000). Cancer and the spouse: Gender-related differences in dealing with health care and illness. Critical Reviews in Oncology/ Hematology, 40(2), 115-23.
4.
Bhaskar, R. ( 1989). Reclaiming reality: A critical introduction to contemporary philosophy. London: Verso.
5.
Blanchard, C.G., Albrecht, T.L. and Ruckdeschel, J.C. ( 1997). The crisis of cancer: Psychological impact on family caregivers. Psycho-oncology, 11(2), 189-94.
6.
Boehmer, U. and Clarke, J.A. ( 2001). Communication about prostate cancer between men and their wives. Journal of Family Practice, 50(3), 226-31.
7.
Bryman, A. and Burgess, R.G. ( 1994). Analysing qualitative data. London : Routledge.
8.
Charmaz, K. ( 2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: SAGE .
9.
Connolly, C.M. ( 2005). A qualitative exploration of resilience in long-term lesbian couples. Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 13(3), 266-80.
10.
Cort, E., Monroe, B. and Oliviere, D. ( 2004). Couples in palliative care. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 19(3), 337-54.
11.
Daker-White, G. and Donovan, J. ( 2002). Sexual satisfaction, quality of life and the transaction of intimacy in hospital patients’ accounts of their (hetero)sexual relationships . Sociology of Health and Illness, 24(1), 89-113.
12.
D’Ardenne, P. ( 2004). The couple sharing long-term illness. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 19(3), 291-308.
13.
De Groot, J.M., Mah, K., Fyles, A., Winton, S., Greenwood, S., de Petrillo, A.D. et al. (2005). The psychosocial impact of cervical cancer among affected women and their partners. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, 15(5), 918-25.
14.
Flaskerud, J.H., Carter, P.A. and Lee, P. ( 2000). Distressing emotions in female caregivers of people with AIDS, age-related dementias, and advanced-stage cancers. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 36(4), 121-30.
15.
Foy, S. and Rose, K. ( 2001). Men’s experiences of their partner’s primary and recurrent breast cancer. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 5(1), 42-8.
16.
Gavey, N., McPhillips, K. and Braun, V. ( 1999). Interruptus coitus: Heterosexuals account for intercourse . Sexualities, 2(1), 35-68.
17.
Germino, B.B., Fife, B.L. and Funk, S.G. ( 1995). Cancer and the partner relationship: What is its meaning ? Seminars in Nursing Oncology, 11(1), 43-50.
Harden, J., Schafenacker, A., Northouse, L., Mood, D., Smith, D., Pienta, K. et al. (2002). Couples’ experiences with prostate cancer: Focus group research. Oncology Nursing Forum, 29(4), 701-9.
20.
Hodges, L.J., Humphris, G.M. and Macfarlane, G. ( 2005). A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between the psychological distress of cancer patients and their carers. Social Science and Medicine, 60(1), 1-12.
21.
Holmberg, S.K., Scott, L.L., Alexy, W. and Fife, B.L. ( 2001). Relationship issues of women with breast cancer. Cancer Nursing, 24(1), 53-60.
22.
Hordern, A.J. and Street, A.J. ( 2007). Constructions of sexuality and intimacy after cancer: Patient and health professional perspectives. Social Science and Medicine, 64(8), 1704-18.
23.
Hughes, M.K. ( 2000). Sexuality and the cancer survivor: A silent coexistence . Cancer Nursing, 23(6), 477-82.
24.
Janesick, V.J. ( 1994). The dance of qualitative research design: Metaphor, methodolatry and meaning. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Strategies of qualitative inquiry, pp. 209-19. London: SAGE.
25.
Kelly, M. ( 1992). Self, identity and radical surgery. Sociology of Health & Illness, 14(3), 390-415.
26.
Kelly, M. and Field, D. ( 1996). Medical sociology, chronic illness and the body. Sociology of Health & Illness, 18(2), 241-57.
27.
Kurdek, L.A. ( 2003). Gay men and lesbians: The family context. In M. Coleman and L.H. Ganong (Eds.), Handbook of contemporary families: Considering the past, contemplating the future, pp. 96-115. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
28.
Kuyper, M.B. and Wester, F. ( 1998). In the shadow: The impact of chronic illness on the patient’s partner. Qualitative Health Research, 8(2), 237-53.
29.
Lee, C. and Porteous, J. ( 2002). Experiences of family caregivers among middle-agedAustralian women. Feminist Psychology, 12(1), 79-96.
30.
Lemieux, L., Kaiser, S., Pereira, J. and Meadows, L.M. ( 2004). Sexuality in palliative care: Patient perspectives. Palliative Medicine, 18, 630-7.
31.
McLane, L., Jones, K., Lydiatt, D. and Richards, A. ( 2003). Taking away the fear: A grounded theory study of cooperative care in the treatment of head and neck cancer. Psycho-oncology , 12(5), 474-90.
32.
Manderson, L. ( 2005). Boundary breaches: The body, sex and sexuality after stoma surgery. Social Science and Medicine, 61(2), 405-15.
33.
Maughan, K., Heyman, B. and Matthews, M. ( 2002). In the shadow of risk: How men cope with a partner’s gynaecological cancer. International Journal of Cancer Studies , 39(1), 27-34.
34.
Minichiello, V., Aroni, R., Timewell, E. and Alexander, L. ( 1990). In-depth interviewing: Researching people. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.
35.
Neese, L.E., Schover, L.R., Klein, E.A., Zippe, C. and Kupelian, P.A. ( 2003). Finding help for sexual problems after prostate cancer treatment: A phone survey of men’s and women’s perspectives. Psycho-oncology, 12(5), 463-73.
36.
Parker, G. ( 1990). Spouse carers: Whose quality of life? In S. Baldwin, C. Godfrey and C. Propper (Eds.), Quality of life: Perspectives and policies, pp. 120-30. London: Routledge .
37.
Payne, S., Smith, P. and Dean, S. ( 1999). Identifying the concerns of informal carers in palliative care. Palliative Medicine, 13(1), 37-44.
38.
Perez, M.A., Skinner, E.C. and Meyerowtiz, B.E. ( 2002). Sexuality and intimacy following radical prostatectomy: Patient and partner perspectives. Health Psychology, 21(3), 288-93.
39.
Persson, E., Severinsson, E. and Hellstrom, A.L. ( 1998). Spouses’ perceptions of and reactions to living with a partner who has undergone surgery for rectal cancer resulting in a stoma. Cancer Nursing, 27(1), 85-90.
40.
Pope, E. ( 1999). When illness takes sex out of a relationship. Siecus Report, 27(3), 8-12.
41.
Potts, A. ( 2002). Science/fiction of sex: Feminist deconstruction of the vocabularies of heterosex. New York: Routledge.
42.
Rees, C.E., Bath, P.A. and Lloyd-Williams, M. ( 1998). The information needs of spouses of women with breast cancer: Patients’ and spouses’ perspectives. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(6), 1249-58.
43.
Reichers, E.A. ( 2004). Including partners into the diagnosis of prostate cancer: A review of the literature to provide a model of care. Urologic Nursing, 24(1), 22-38.
44.
Rolland, J.S. ( 1994). In sickness and in health: The impact of illness on couples’ relationships. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 20(4), 327-35.
45.
Sanders, S., Pedro, L.W., Bantum, E.O. and Galbraith, M.E. ( 2006). Couples surviving prostate cancer: Long-term intimacy needs and concerns following treatment. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 10(4), 503-8.
46.
Schildrick, M. ( 2005). Unreformed bodies: Normative anxiety and the denial of pleasure. Women’s Studies, 34, 327-44.
47.
Schober, J.M. ( 2004). Sexual quality of life in an intersexual population: A needs assessment. BJU International, 93(3), 54-6.
48.
Schultz, W.C.M. and van de Wiel, H.B.M. ( 2003). Sexuality, intimacy and gynaecological cancer. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 29(1), 121-8.
49.
Schwartz, S. and Plawecki, R.N. ( 2002). Consequences of chemotherapy on the sexuality of patients with lung cancer. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 6(4), 1-5.
50.
Seidman, I.E. ( 1991). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York: Teachers College Press Columbia University.
51.
Soothill, K., Morris, S.M., Thomas, C., Harman, J.C., Francis, B. and McIllmurray, M.B. ( 2003). The universal, situational and personal needs of cancer patients and their main carers. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 7(1), 5-13.
52.
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. ( 1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
53.
Sundquist, K. ( 2002). Talking about sexuality: Body image and cancer. New South Wales: The Cancer Council.
54.
Thomas, C. and Morris, S.M. ( 2002). Informal carers in cancer contexts, European Journal of Cancer Care, 11(2), 178-82.
55.
Thomas, C., Morris, S.M. and Harman, J.C. ( 2002). Companions through cancer: The care given by informal carers in cancer contexts. Social Science and Medicine, 54(4), 529-44.
56.
Tiefer, L. ( 1996). The medicalization of sexuality: Conceptual, normative, and professional issues. Annual Review of Sex Research, 7, 252-82.
57.
Ussher, J.M. ( 1997). Fantasies of femininity: Reframing the boundaries of sex. London: Penguin.
58.
Ussher, J.M. and Perz, J. ( 2008). Empathy, egalitarianism and emotion work in the relational negotiation of PMS: The experience of lesbian couples. Feminism and Psychology, 18(1), 87-111.
59.
Varga, C.A. ( 1997). Sexual decision-making and negotiation in the midst of AIDS: Youth in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. Health Transition Review, 7, 45-67.
60.
Walsh, S.R., Manuel, J.C. and Avis, N.E. ( 2005). The impact of breast cancer on younger women’s relationships with their partner and children. Families, Systems and Health, 23(1), 80-93.
61.
Wellard, S. ( 1998). Constructions of chronic illness. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 35, 49-55.
62.
Zahlis, E.H. and Shands, M.E. ( 1993). The impact of breast cancer on the partner 18 months after diagnosis. Seminars in Nursing Oncology, 9(2), 83-7.
