What question did this study set out to answer?

Investigate the gendered psychosocial, emotional, and identity consequences of potential or confirmed infertility following cancer treatment among women and men.

March 5, 2018BMC CancerOpen Access

Threat of biographical disruption: the gendered construction and experience of infertility following cancer for women and men

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Authors

JUJane M. UssherTranslational Research Institute JPJanette PerzTranslational Research Institute

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Implication

Mixed-methods study reveals that post-cancer infertility threatens identity and life goals in both women and men, highlighting the need for gender-tailored clinical support.

Key Points

Investigate the gendered psychosocial, emotional, and identity consequences of potential or confirmed infertility following cancer treatment among women and men.
Surveyed 693 women and 185 men across various cancer types and age groups, supplemented by in-depth one-to-one interviews with a purposively selected subsample of 61 women and 17 men.
Analyzed qualitative interview transcripts and open-ended survey responses using thematic decomposition, and evaluated gender differences on closed survey items via chi-square tests for independence.
Identified post-cancer infertility as a central 'Threat of Biographical Disruption' across both genders, with parenthood widely perceived as integral to adulthood and personal gender identity.
Significantly more women reported feeling empty due to fertility complications, while significantly more men reported that they had never discussed fertility concerns with a healthcare professional.
Participants identified shared challenges including delayed parenthood, grief, and insufficient support, alongside adaptive coping strategies such as renegotiating personal identity and visualizing life without children.

Cite This Study

Ussher et al. (2018) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7cd9199e20a1edef3aa6d6 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-018-4172-5

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Implication

Mixed-methods study reveals that post-cancer infertility threatens identity and life goals in both women and men, highlighting the need for gender-tailored clinical support.

Threat of biographical disruption: the gendered construction and experience of infertility following cancer for women and men

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Threat of biographical disruption: the gendered construction and experience of infertility following cancer for women and men

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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