doi:10.1002/pon.1772

Paper Title

Perceptions of masculinity and self-image in adolescent and young adult testicular cancer survivors: implications for romantic and sexual relationships

Keywords

testicular cancer
adolescent and young adult (aya) cancer survivors
masculinity and cancer
self-image and cancer
romantic relationships
sexual relationships
cancer and sexuality
cancer disclosure
cancer and self-perception
oncology and young adults
cancer survivorship
psychological impact of cancer
cancer and dating
body image issues
cancer support interventions
qualitative study
testicular cancer awareness
cancer and mental health
adolescent health
sexual health and cancer

Article Type

Research Article

Journal

Psycho-Oncology

Research Impact Tools

DOI

10.1002/pon.1772

Publication Info

Volume: 20 | Issue: 7 | Pages: 738-745

Published On

July, 2011

Downloads

FULL PDF

CITATION

COPY LINK

Abstract

Objective: To examine adolescent and young adult (AYA) testicular cancer survivors' subjective understanding of the impact of cancer in adolescence and young adulthood, with a particular emphasis on romantic and sexual relationships. Methods: Twenty-one AYA testicular cancer survivors, aged 18 to 34 years, were recruited from outpatient testicular cancer follow-up clinics and completed a semi-structured qualitative interview that assessed the impact of testicular cancer on their romantic and sexual relationships. Results: Four themes were identified that reflected survivors' understanding of the impact of cancer in adolescence and young adulthood: (1) embarrassment leads to delays in care-seeking, (2) testicular cancer makes you feel different from others, (3) being different from others makes you damaged goods, and (4) cancer disclosure is difficult. Conclusions: As these themes represent important components of being in a romantic/sexual relationship, either currently or in the future, AYA testicular cancer survivors would benefit from the development of tailored interventions focused on improving these relevant domains. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.