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Abstract
Although marital status may be a significant variable in determining adjustment to breast cancer, limited empirical research has addressed the unique challenges of single women with this illness. As part of a study examining decision making about pregnancy after breast cancer, 16 unmarried women participated in in-depth interviews. They described five principal Stressors associated with being an unmarried survivor of breast cancer: pessimism regarding future relationships, fears about disclosing their illness to partners, negative body image and impaired sexuality, pain of rejection by partners, and a sense of isolation and inadequate support. These findings suggest that unmarried women with breast cancer may be a vulnerable subpopulation of women with the disease who may benefit from psychosocial interventions tailored to their particular concerns.
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Notes on contributors
Eileen Gorey
Dr. Gluhoski is a Project Administrator, New York Stale Psychiatric Institute, Unit 13, 722 West I68th Street, New York, NY 10032. Dr. Siegel is Director, Center for Psychosocial Study of Health and Illness, and Professor of Public Health, Columbia University School of Public Health, New York, NY. Ms. Gorey is a Senior Research Associate, Department of Social Work, Memorial Sloan-Ket-tering Cancer Center, New York, NY. The work described in the article was supported by grant DAMD-17-94-J-4455 from the Department of the Army: Karolynn Siegel, PhD, Principal investigator. The authors would like to acknowledge the special assistance of Robin Hurdle, CSW, African-American Program Coordinator, Cancer Care, Inc., in identifying and recruiting research participants.