Breast Cancer: Meanings Attributed by Lesbian Women and Their Partners to Healthcare
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-4327e3405Keywords:
breast neoplasms, gender, health personnel attitudes, health services accessibility, homosexualityAbstract
In oncological services, questions on sexual orientation are not even addressed by professionals during appointments, which reinforces the invisibilization of lesbian women. This supports the assumption that all women assisted due to breast cancer have
a hetero-oriented sexuality. This qualitative study aimed to analyze the meanings attributed by lesbian women with breast cancer and their partners to care practices and their health needs. Seven women participated, four of whom had been diagnosed with breast cancer and three were their intimate partners. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted, subjected to thematic analysis, interpreted from a gender perspective. Patients and partners reported receiving adequate care in health services and felt supported by professionals, but they also experienced episodes of disrespect and discrimination. The findings confirm the need to adopt inclusive health policies that are sensitive to the specificities of lesbian women.
Downloads
References
Andrade, H. M., Beraldi, M. L., Martins, E. L., & Wilhelm, L. A. (2021). Vivência de mulheres cis lésbicas durante a consulta ginecológica [Experience of lesbian cis women during gynecological consultation]. Cadernos de Gênero e Diversidade, 7(3), 148-175. https://periodicos.ufba.br/index.php/cadgendiv/article/view/46852
Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Pesquisa. (2016). Critério de Classificação Econômica Brasil [Criterion of Economic Classification Brazil]. http://www.abep.org/novo/Content.aspex?ContentID=301
Bervian, P. I., & Girardon-Perlini, N. M. O. (2006). A família (con)vivendo com a mulher/mãe após a mastectomia [Life in families with wives and mothers after mastectomy]. Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia, 52(2), 121-128. https://doi.org/10.32635/2176-9745.RBC.2006v52n2.1884
Borrillo, D. (2010). Homofobia: História e crítica de um preconceito [Homophobia: History and critique of a prejudice] (G. J. F. Teixeira, Trans.). Autêntica.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
Cabral, K. T. F., Pereira, I. L., Almeida, L. R., Nogueira, W. B. A. G., Silva, F. V., Costa, L. F. P., Jales, R. D., & Almeida, S. A. (2019). Assistência de enfermagem às mulheres lésbicas e bissexuais [Nursing care for lesbian and bisexual women]. Revista de Enfermagem UFPE on line, 13(1), 79-85. https://doi.org/10.5205/19818963-v13i1a237896p79-85-2019
Cano, V. (2019). Imaginarios sexuales y des/atención médica: La ginecología como dispositivo de heterocis-normalización [Sexual imaginaries and medical in/attention: Gynecology as device for hetero-cis-normalization]. Sexualidad, Salud y Sociedad: Revista Latinoamericana, (33), 42-58. http://dx.doi.org/
1590/1984-6487.sess.2019.33.03.a
Dullius, W. R., Martins, L. B., & Cesnik, V. M. (2019). Systematic review on health care professionals’ competencies in the care of LGBT+ individuals. Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 36, e180171. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0275201936e180171
Duman, N. B., & Yildirim, F. (2022). Gynecological and breast cancer risk factors and screenings in lesbian and bisexual women. Universa Medicina, 41(2), 184-193. http://dx.doi.org/10.18051/UnivMed.2022.v41.184-193
Flick, U. (2009). Introdução à pesquisa qualitativa [An introduction to qualitative research] (J. E. Costa, Trans.). Artmed. (Original work published 1998)
França, A. F. O., Silva, R. M. M., Monroe, A. P., Mairink, A. P. A. R., Nunes, L. C., & Panobianco, M. S. (2021). Therapeutic itinerary of breast cancer women in a border municipality. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 74(6), e20200936. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-71672020-0936
Inocenti, A., Santos, M. A., Loyola, E. A. C., Magalhães, P. A. P., & Panobianco, M. S. (2016). Impact of the effects of the reconstructive surgery in the life of women with breast cancer. Texto & Contexto - Enfermagem, 25(2), e4520014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/010407072016004520014
Jahn, J. L., Bishop, R. A., Tan, A. S. L., & Agénor, M. (2019). Patient-provider sexually transmitted infection prevention communication among young adult sexual minority cisgender women and nonbinary assigned female at birth individuals. Women’s Health Issues, 29(4), 308-314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2019.01.002
Lisy, K., Peters, M., Schofield, P., & Jefford, M. (2018). Experiences and unmet needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people with cancer care: A systematic review and meta-synthesis. Psycho-oncology, 27(6), 1480-1489. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4674
Liu, P. L., & Yeo, T. E. D. (2021). Breast health, risk factors, and cancer screening among lesbian, bisexual, and queer/questioning women in China. Health Care for Women International, 42(7-9), 947-961. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2019.1571062
Malterud, K., Siersma, V. D., & Guassora, A. D. (2016). Sample size in qualitative interview studies: Guided by information power. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1753-1760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617444
McNair, R. P., & Bush, R. (2016). Mental health help seeking patterns and associations among Australian same sex attracted women, trans and gender diverse people: A survey-based study. BMC Psychiatry, 16, 209. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-0916-4
Palma, D. M., & Orcasita, L. T. (2018). “La solución es la tijera” (the solution is scissors): Sexual health programme oriented to lesbian and bisexual women. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 34, e34419. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e34419
Rich, A. (2019). Heterossexualidade compulsória e existência lésbica & outros ensaios [Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence & other essays] (A. Freitas & D. Lühmann, Trans.). A Bolha
Scott, J. W. (1986). Gender: A useful category of historical analysis. The American Historical Review, 91(5), 1053-1075. https://doi.org/10.2307/1864376
Silva, G. F., Bastos, K. D., Araújo, A. J. S., Bispo, T. C. F., Oliveira, G. R. S. A., & Schulz, R. S. (2018). Mulheres submetidas à mastectomia: Aspectos sentimentais e emocionais [Women who have had mastectomy: Sentimental and emotional aspects]. Revista Enfermagem Contemporânea, 7(1), 72-80. https://doi.org/10.17267/2317-3378rec.v7i1.1213
Souza, C., Lima-Santos, A. V. S., & Santos, M. A. (2021). Relatos do silêncio: A invisibilização de mulheres lésbicas nos serviços de saúde em uma perspectiva foucaultiana [Reports of silence: The invisibilization of lesbian women in health services from a Foucauldian perspective]. In A. C. Bortolozzi, P. R. M. Ribeiro, F. Teixeira, I. Chagas, T. Vilaça, P. O. S. P. Mendes, S. M. M. Melo, C. R. Rossi, & I. P. Martins (Orgs.), Questões sobre sexualidade e educação sexual: Novos paradigmas e horizontes [Questions about sexuality and sexual education: New paradigms and horizons] (pp. 273-282). Gradus.
Souza, C., & Santos, M. A. (2021). Câncer de mama e homossexualidade feminina: Uma revisão integrativa da literatura [Breast cancer and female homosexuality: An integrative literature review]. Psico, 52(2), e36109. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2021.2.36109
Souza, V. R., Marziale, M. H. P., Silva, G. T. R., & Nascimento, P. L. (2021). Translation and validation into Brazilian Portuguese and assessment of the COREQ checklist. Acta Paulista de Enfermagem, 34, eAPE02631. http://dx.doi.org/10.37689/acta-ape/2021ao02631
Verenhitach, B. D., Medeiros, J. N., Elias, S., & Nazário, A. C. P. (2014). Câncer de mama e seus efeitos sobre a sexualidade: Uma revisão sistemática sobre abordagem e tratamento [Breast cancer and its effects on sexuality: A sistematic review on the evaluation and treatment]. Femina, 42(1), 3-10. http://files.bvs.br/upload/S/0100-7254/2014/v42n1/a4806.pdf
Wandrey, R. L., Qualls, W. D., & Mosack, K. E. (2016). Are mainstream support services meeting the needs of sexual minority women with breast cancer? An exploration of the perspectives and experiences of users of an online support forum. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 28(4), 336-348. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2016.1221783
Whitehead, J., Shaver, J., & Stephenson, R. (2016). Outness, stigma, and primary health care utilization among rural LGBT populations. PloS One, 11(1), e0146139. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146139
Xavier, A. T. F., Ataíde, M. B. C., Pereira, F. G. F., & Nascimento, V. D. (2010). Análise de gênero para o adoecer de câncer [Gender analysis in acquiring cancer]. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 63(6), 921-926. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672010000600008
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Regarding the availability of contents, Paideia adopts the Creative Commons License, CC-BY. With this licence anyone is allowed to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as well as to remix, transform, and create from the material for any purpose, even commercial, giving the proper copyright credits to the journal, providing a link to the licence and indicating if changes have been made.
Partial reproduction of other publications
Quotations of more than 500 words, reproductions of one or more figures, tables or other illustrations must have written permission from the copyright holder of the original work for the reproduction specified in the Paidéia journal. Permission should be addressed to the author of the submitted manuscript. Secondarily obtained rights will not be transferred under any circumstance.
