Patients' beliefs	Healthcare professionals' beliefs
Yes, medical staff should have talked to me about sexual issues:	Yes, we should discuss sexual issues with patients:
•“it would help you understand that it is normal to feel like I did after the chemo and the operation”	• “which sexual problems may occur”
• “I could have understood why I was having sexual problems if they'd have said ‘you might have problems sexually because we’ve removed this or that”	• “why sexual problems may occur”
• “it would have provided reassurance—light at the end of the tunnel”	• “reassurance that sexual activity will not cause a recurrence”
• “you should know what's going to happen instead of it hitting you like a tonne of bricks”	• “reassurance that sexual problems are normal”
Patients' reality	• “advice or help is available”
No, medical staff didn't talk to me about sexual issues:	Healthcare professionals' reality
•“I didn't know much about how sex would be affected, I just had to go through and find out for myself”	No, we don't often discuss sexual issues with patients:
• “you have no idea about how the cancer will affect you sexually”	• “it's not my responsibility”
• “nobody talks about sex and you wonder whether it is right that you feel different”	• “talking about sexual issues is too embarrassing”
• “the doctor said that if I was having problems with sex the hospital had creams to help me, but nothing else was said”	• “I'm not sure what types of sexual problems patients experience”
	• “I don't feel confident talking to patients about sexual issues”
	• “there's nowhere to talk to patients in private”
	• “there's no time to discuss sexual issues”
	• “I wait until a patient asks about sex”