Women's reflections on fertility and motherhood after breast cancer and its treatment

Kirkman, Maggie; Winship, Ingrid; Stern, Catharyn; Neil, S.; Mann, G. Bruce; Fisher, Jane

doi:10.1111/ecc.12163

Cited by 40 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…to worry about health problems in connection with a pregnancy (Gorman, Bailey, Pierce, & Su, 2012), the health of the future child (Gorman et al, 2012;Nilsson et al, 2014), increased risk of recurrence due to pregnancy (Hsieh et al, 2017) and about leaving a child motherless (Kirkman et al, 2014). While there is no evidence of any overall increased risks of recurrence due to pregnancy or of genetic disorders and congenital defects among offspring of cancer survivors, worries about possible pregnancy problems may be well founded (Lawrenz et al, 2012).…”

Section: Cancer Survivors In This and Previous Studies Have Been Repomentioning

confidence: 99%

Threatened fertility: A longitudinal study exploring experiences of fertility and having children after cancer treatment

et al. 2017

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Infertility is a recognised potential sequel of cancer treatment which impacts negatively on the quality of survival. The aim of this study was to explore how men and women experience the threat of infertility by cancer treatment and individuals' thoughts about having children after cancer during the first 2 years following diagnosis. Nine women and seven men (aged 24-41) participated in two interviews in this longitudinal interview study, after the initiation of cancer treatment and 2 years thereafter. The interviews focused on participants' thoughts and feelings about threatened fertility and having children. The interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis with a particular focus on identifying experiences over time. The Traits-Desires-Intentions model was used to reflect upon the study findings. The analysis resulted in the identification of four themes: Continue calmly on chosen path, Abandoning plans for children, Avoiding the subject of fertility and Struggling towards life goals. The results emphasise the need to offer individualised fertility-related treatment communication and counselling, both at the time of cancer diagnosis and also in connection with follow-up care. Appropriate fertility-related communication should be included in young cancer patients' survivor care plans.

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Section: Cancer Survivors In This and Previous Studies Have Been Repomentioning

confidence: 99%

Threatened fertility: A longitudinal study exploring experiences of fertility and having children after cancer treatment

et al. 2017

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“…When breast cancer is diagnosed in women of reproductive age, breast cancer, fertility, and reproductive health are inter-linked in complex ways that have immediate and long-term consequences [37, 38]. Caution has usually led clinicians to advise their young breast cancer patients to delay conception for at least two years after treatment [39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meanings of abortion in context: accounts of abortion in the lives of women diagnosed with breast cancer

et al. 2017

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BackgroundA breast cancer diagnosis and an abortion can each be pivotal moments in a woman’s life. Research on abortion and breast cancer deals predominantly with women diagnosed during pregnancy who might be advised to have an abortion. The other—discredited but persistent—association is that abortions cause breast cancer. The aim here was to understand some of the ways in which women themselves might experience the convergence of abortion and breast cancer.MethodsAmong 50 women recruited from the Australian Breast Cancer Family Study and interviewed in depth about what it meant to have a breast cancer diagnosis before the age of 41, five spontaneously told of having or contemplating an abortion. The transcripts of these five women were analysed to identify what abortion meant in the context of breast cancer, studying each woman’s account as an individual “case” and interpreting it within narrative theory.ResultsIt was evident that each woman understood abortion as playing a different role in her life. One reported an abortion that she did not link to her cancer, the second was relieved not to have to abort a mid-treatment pregnancy, the third represented abortion as saving her life by making her cancer identifiable, the fourth grieved an abortion that had enabled her to begin chemotherapy, and the fifth believed that her cancer was caused by an earlier abortion.ConclusionsThe women’s accounts illustrate the different meanings of abortion in women’s lives, with concomitant need for diverse support, advice, and information.

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“…The literature specifically investigating young women’s subjective experiences of breast cancer is sparse, and young women diagnosed during pregnancy have been occasionally involved in such studies. For example, one woman in Burles’ [14] study of young people with serious illnesses was diagnosed with BCDP, and one woman in Kirkman et al’s [15] study of young women with breast cancer was diagnosed early in her pregnancy. Further in-depth insight into the accounts of young women diagnosed during pregnancy is, therefore, badly needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experiences and perceptions of women diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy

Rees

Young

2016

Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing

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Objective:Although much has been documented about the experience of breast cancer, the accounts of young women have been relatively neglected, despite that around 20% of the breast cancer diagnoses occur in women under the age of 50. In particular, the voices of young women diagnosed during pregnancy are missing from research. Breast cancer is the most common cancer associated with pregnancy, and it is diagnosed in about 1 in 3000 pregnancies.Methods:This study presents data from three women drawn from a larger study of women who had been diagnosed under the age of 45 and had completed their treatment for breast cancer. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were undertaken, with a methodology informed by social constructionist grounded theory and feminism.Results:The findings here report the ways that having breast cancer during pregnancy disrupted taken-for-granted assumptions about their pregnancies, new motherhood, and their future life course, and how this occurred within the context of gendered ideas about femininity and motherhood.Conclusions:Breast cancer during pregnancy has a far-reaching impact on young women’s lives, and women affected may need practical support in caring for young children, and counselling may be appropriate. Further research is needed in this important area.

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Women's reflections on fertility and motherhood after breast cancer and its treatment

Cited by 40 publications

References 42 publications

Threatened fertility: A longitudinal study exploring experiences of fertility and having children after cancer treatment

Threatened fertility: A longitudinal study exploring experiences of fertility and having children after cancer treatment

Meanings of abortion in context: accounts of abortion in the lives of women diagnosed with breast cancer

The experiences and perceptions of women diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy

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