“I Feel Different”: Ovarian Cancer and Sexual Self-Concept

ABSTRACT

Ovarian cancer and its treatments affect women's sexuality and sexual health. The disease affects a core element of womanhood and femininity—the ovaries. Scholars and others argue that the position of the ovaries in the interior of the female body and the prognosis of the disease contribute to limited public awareness. In the present study the author used a feminist lens to conduct interviews and focus-group discussions with 28 women affected with ovarian cancer. The results showed that ovarian cancer and its treatments affect women's understanding of their sexual self-concept. Their understanding is also influenced by life conditions at the time of diagnosis, the treatment regimen, and factors such as age and level of social support. Thus sexual self-concept in the context of ovarian cancer needs to be reconceptualized to account for how the disease presents itself.

Keywords:

• feminism
• ovarian cancer
• sexual self-concept
• women's health
• women's sexuality

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Erratum

Acknowledgment

Data for this study were drawn from the author's doctoral dissertation directed by Dr. Sandra Faulkner. The author thanks Dr. Faulkner for providing feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The author would also like to acknowledge Drs. Radhika Gajjala and Lisa Hanasono (dissertation committee members), the editors and anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback.

Notes

1. I adopted the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS)'s definition of a survivor. The NCCS defines “someone as a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life” (http://www.canceradvocacy.org/about-us/our-mission/).

2. Recent research indicates that many ovarian cancers do not originate in the ovary (see, Committee on the State of the Science in Ovarian Cancer Research; Board on Health Care Services; Institute of Medicine; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2016). Ovarian Cancers: Evolving Paradigms in Research and Care. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences).