ABSTRACT
Research examining the impact of a breast cancer diagnosis on sexuality mainly took place within the context of a positivist–realist paradigm, and was focused on the physical aspects of women’s experience and satisfaction or dysfunction in their sexual relationships. Very few published studies on younger women’s experiences of breast cancer conducted in the United Kingdom exist; notable exceptions are R. Corney and colleagues, and E. Adams and colleagues’ synthesis of the work of others. Some research indicates that breast conserving surgery has less impact on body image than mastectomy, with or without reconstruction. Young single women with breast cancer describe an “utter silence” surrounding understanding of sexual changes in their bodies and how to feel sexual again with a new partner. Bertero and Wilmoth, in a meta-synthesis of qualitative research on breast cancer treatments affecting the Self, make reference to Frank’s quest narrative.
