The need to be Superman: the psychosocial support challenges of young men affected by cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To investigate how gender-specific issues shape the experiences of young adult men with cancer and what they report to be problematic. RESEARCH APPROACH A qualitative, descriptive approach. SETTING Website, focus group in the southwestern United States, and phone interviews throughout the United States. PARTICIPANTS Text from an online forum (N=3,000 posts), focus group of six men, and separate interviews with four men. METHODOLOGIC APPROACH Data analysis took place over two months through constant comparison of online text as well as a focus group and interview transcripts. FINDINGS Men face challenges being both a receiver and provider of support in relationships with their peers, romantic partners, and children. Cultural expectations to "be strong" drive their support-seeking beliefs and behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Men report conflict between desires to show strength and to be honest that present a barrier to support, as well as contribute to inadequate relationships with male peers and greater difficulty in exchanging support with romantic partners. INTERPRETATION The authors identified attitudes about and barriers to men's experiences with social support, which healthcare providers, such as nurses, should be sensitive to when developing and providing support.