From Taboo to Pleasure: A Study of Breast Cancer Survivorship and Sexual Selfhood in the UK

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One in seven women in the UK will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Advances in detection and treatment are leading to improved survival rates, and the median age at diagnosis is reducing each year, therefore research into quality of life in survivorship is a necessary and growing field. Studies show that the impact on sexuality in people living with and beyond cancer remains the treatment burden least addressed or resolved despite the importance of sexual wellbeing to quality of life. Existing research into the impact of cancer on sexual wellbeing pays little attention to the role of social and cultural attitudes towards sex and gender in shaping people's experiences of their own sexuality. Studies tend to use narrow measures and frameworks which view sexual function through a male-centred lens, assuming heterosexuality and medicalising women's sexual health. This project will use participatory research methods toc reate a framework for understanding sexual selfhood in participants living with and beyond breast cancer in a UK context; use mixed-method research to gather data on people's physical and emotional sense of a sexual self; and will explore the impact and potential of creative group workshops on participants' experiences of sexuality after breast cancer. The project will address a significant need by prioritising the experiences of cancer survivors and bringing together academic, medical and artistic realms to examinesexual selfhood.