Digital peer support and sexual well-being after gynaecological cancer.

Résumé

Gynaecological cancers and their treatment can alter sexual functioning, intimacy, and relationship dynamics, yet these concerns are frequently difficult to raise in clinical encounters and everyday support networks. This study examines how sexuality is articulated and collectively interpreted in online peer communities by analysing sex-related discussions in three Reddit forums focused on cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancer. After web-scraping posts in RStudio, a reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to identify recurring patterns in how participants describe sexual concerns, seek guidance, and construct shared understandings of 'normal' sexual change in the context of illness. Four themes were developed: (1) sexual pain and distress; (2) body image and sexual selfhood; (3) seeking peer advice and lateral expertise; and (4) relational strain. Together, the findings identify Reddit as a venue for collective meaning-making about sexuality under illness conditions, highlighting how lay communities generate practical and interpretive resources that complement, and at times extend beyond, clinical framings of sexual recovery.