Speaking as the former partner of a single mastectomy patient, now long
deceased.

1. That is very much a personal thing.  After my wife's operation we
were quite keen to start having sex again and working around the
problems as soon as possible.

2. I suspect you will feel rather like a man does (or at least, I do) in
that area, pressure or touch on any area of the upper chest adds to
pleasurable feelings.  My nipples, while sensitive, I do not find
particularly erogenous.  Once my wife's scar had healed, I learned to
caress the area pretty much as one might cup a breast.  It's not the
same, but I suspect that physically you lose less than you might think,
while emotionally its all a matter of attitude.

3. Of course, one feels terrible for a while about any involuntary
change of body shape.  But one grows used to it.

4. Not necessarily.  It's going to take some work on both sides to get
back to where you were, but with the extra understanding that results it
might even end up better.

5.  While I am the first to pooh-pooh calls for a positive attitude as a
cure for cancer, I think it can be most helpful in reestablishing sexual
enjoyment.  Nipples are not the only erogenous zone, you and your
husband need to explore and use your imaginations.

Your husband may well have previously been relying on visual arousal
from your breasts and will need to refocus his own sexual triggers.  It
can be done, it isn't necessarily easy and it might take a while, maybe
a year or so.  It does take work and dedication to the cause.

Tim Jackson