Sexuality and Intimacy: During and After Cancer Treatment
No doubt, cancer treatments can affect your sexuality. It may have nothing to do with your ability to have sex. In some extremely rare cases, penetration for intercourse cannot physically occur because of removal of the vagina or severe scarring of the vagina from radiation therapy. But physically, most women will maintain the anatomy needed for sexual intercourse. The desire to be intimate however is often directly impacted by the treatment. Often, this is initially due to the side effects of treatment which would cause too much pain or discomfort. These side effects affect women differently and most go away after treatment. Indirectly, the stress of a cancer diagnosis, the impact on family, work, finances, body image and lifestyle can be the greater cause of lost desire and intimacy.. How you feel about yourself, though, is as important as how your body responds. Maintaining a positive attitude through treatment and after will help you to achieve a better quality of life overall including a healthy sexuality.