How chemotherapy might affect your sex life

Some people go through their chemotherapy with their sex lives unaffected. On the other hand, some people find that their sex lives are temporarily or permanently changed in some way due to their chemotherapy.

• Changes due to chemotherapy
• Early menopause
• Contraception
• Protecting your partner
• Talking about sex

Changes due to chemotherapy

Most changes that occur are temporary, and should not have a long-term effect on your sex life. For example, there may be times when you just feel too tired, or perhaps not strong enough for the level of physical activity you are used to during sex. If your treatment is making you feel sick, you may not want to have sex at all for a while. Remember that most side effects from chemotherapy that may affect your sex life, such as tiredness or sickness, will gradually wear off once your treatment is finished.

Anxiety may also play a large part in putting you off sex. Often the anxiety may not seem directly related to sex; you may be worried about your chances of surviving your cancer, or how your family is coping with the illness, or about your finances. Stresses like these can easily push everything else, including sex, to the back of your mind.

There is no medical reason to stop having sex at any time during your course of chemotherapy. It is perfectly safe, and the chemotherapy drugs themselves will have no long-term physical effects on your ability to have and enjoy sexual activity. Cancer cannot be passed on to your partner during sex and it won’t make the cancer worse.

Early menopause

In some women, chemotherapy brings on an early menopause. This causes the symptoms associated with the menopause, which may include dryness of the vagina and a decreased interest in sex.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be used by women with most types of cancer to prevent or reduce menopausal symptoms. However, doctors have concerns about using it for women who have had breast cancer or cancer of the womb (uterus). Some doctors feel that HRT may increase the risk of these cancers coming back, but others do not.

If dryness of the vagina is making sex uncomfortable, your doctor may be able to prescribe a cream or ointment to ease the problem, or you can use KY Jelly or other creams such as Replens to moisten the vagina. These are available from your chemist without a prescription.

Contraception

It is important to take effective contraceptive precautions whilst having chemotherapy, as chemotherapy drugs can harm the baby if pregnancy occurs. For this reason, your doctor will advise you to use a reliable method of contraception (usually 'barrier' methods – such as condoms or the cap) throughout your treatment and for a few months afterwards.

Protecting your partner

It is thought that chemotherapy drugs cannot pass into semen or vaginal fluids. However, for people having chemotherapy, most hospitals advise the use of condoms during sexual activity for up to a few days after the treatment has been given. This is advised even if there is no risk of pregnancy and is to prevent any possible problems for their partner.

Talking about sex

If you are worried that the chemotherapy could affect your sex life, try to discuss your worries with your cancer specialist or specialist nurse before your treatment starts. They should be able to tell you about the side effects your treatment may cause and the main effects, if any, on your sex life. You need to know about all aspects of your treatment, and if sex is an important part of your life, it matters that you should be fully aware of any possible changes. If the idea of talking to your doctor or nurse about these things is too embarrassing, you could contact our Cancer Support Service nurses. They will talk through any sexual problems with you in complete confidence.

It may help if you can discuss your feelings and any worries with your partner. Even though it is unlikely that chemotherapy will cause any problems with sex, your partner may still have some anxieties and may have been waiting for a sign from you to show that it is all right to discuss them. Perhaps your partner could join you if you decide you want to talk to your doctor or nurse.