[Sexuality and genito-urinary cancers]

In mythological terms, cancer symbolizes death and suffering, and sexuality, on the other hand, symbolizes life and pleasure. This diagnosis whether explicit or not, calls for two-fold reflection. Firstly the individual is faced by the inexorable approach of death and is called to bury his fantasies of immortality. Secondly, it also constitutes a threat to the body-image, and this may have profound repercussions on sexuality. The author investigates the impact of genito-urinary cancers and also cancers of the breast, which are included on the basis of its symbolic nature, on the patient's personal life: conjugal dynamism, socio-professional life and, in particular, physiological changes of sexual function.