Partners Play Key Role in Breast Surgery Aftermath LOS ANGELES (Reuters Health) - How a husband reacts to his wife's breast cancer scars can have a big impact on her sense of femininity and the overall health of the couple's relationship, a new study finds. Ann's NOTE: This study looked at male/female partners but clearly would related to female/female as well. The less breast cancer patients felt their partners were bothered by their surgical scars, the more likely they were to report feeling feminine and attractive, results showed. And the higher women rated the quality of their first sexual experience after surgery, the greater their feelings of femininity and attractiveness, the less emotional distress they experienced and the more satisfied they were with their relationship. The study, presented here at a recent meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, involved 240 women with breast cancer who had undergone either mastectomies to remove an entire breast or lumpectomies to remove part of a breast. All were married or in a long-term relationship. They were followed for up to a year after their surgeries. Overall, the more the women saw their partners as affectionate and emotionally involved after the surgery, the more satisfied they were with the relationship. "The findings indicate that having the perception that her partner is emotionally invested and involved in the relationship relates to the woman having less distress, stronger feelings of femininity and desirability and greater marital satisfaction," said study author Dr. Charles Carver, a professor of psychology at the University of Miami in Florida. "The same pattern also derives from the perception that her partner has sexual interest in her, in the form of initiating sex, and in the actual frequency of sex," he told Reuters Health. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.