Sex might not be something that is really on your mind at all when you’re faced with the prospect of cancer treatment. After all, treatments for this condition are renowned as some of the most invasive and problematic in the world, with a huge range of side effects and issues – it is only natural that you’re going to be worried and think about it an awful lot. Treatments such as chemotherapy have side effects such as causing your hair to fall out and nausea and sickness, so it’s no surprise that sex would not be on your mind if you are going through this.
But after this initial shock and troubles with cancer treatment, it doesn’t take long to get more comfortable and start returning to your normal schedule and routine. And this undoubtedly puts sex back as an important issue in your life – for many women the return to sexual intimacy represents normality returning to their life with cancer and it can be a very positive step forward. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that sex with cancer treatment doesn’t have some complications. Some women are more at risk than others and it can cause a huge variety of problems for both your sexual health and the quality of the cancer treatments on offer.
There are certain types of cancer that put women at a greater risk of having sexual complications or problematic side effects from their treatments. This includes those being treated for bladder cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, rectal cancer and a number of others. Treatment for any of these cancers can cause physical changes in the body but it is also worth remembering that treatment for cancer can also cause enormous changes in your emotions as well. Clearly these can cause serious problems for your ability to have sex in the way that you are used to.
There are a number of commonly experienced sexual side effects and whether you experience will depend on the type of cancer that you have and the stage of treatment that you are at. But some of the most regularly experienced side effects include a difficulty in reaching sexual climax, less energy during sexual activity, a lack of desire for sexual intercourse or other sexual activity, pain during penetration, a reduction in the size of the vagina and vaginal dryness during sex. These problems can clearly cause a number of difficulties and discomforts when you are attempting to get back into sexual activity.
With treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy there are a number of additional problems that can make sexual intercourse something that you might not feel like a lot of the time. With chemotherapy in particular you can experience problems such as fatigue and nausea that might make you not feel like you want to have sex – then there are additional problems such as weight loss or weight gain and hair loss, and these can have the effect of making you lose confidence in your appearance and therefore becoming self-conscious about the act of sex.
If you are worried about the potential side effects of cancer treatment on sex or you are experience problems in having sex during your cancer treatment then it is well worth going to your doctor and having a talk about the different aspects of the treatments and what you can do to improve your sexual experience while you are taking the treatment. This can be a boon to you both in the fact that you can learn more about it and find different ways you can counteract the problems you’re experiencing.