Sex after Breast Cancer Oxford OH
Sex after Breast Cancer
The National Cancer Institute reports that about half of women treated for breast cancer experience some form of long-term sexual dysfunction. Increasingly, younger women are being diagnosed with breast cancer. These women are particularly vulnerable to, or distressed by, treatment-related sexual problems. The good news, however, is that they are also more likely to seek help.
Physical Changes
Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and medicines can all cause sexual dysfunction. The most common reported sex-related problem is loss of desire, or low libido. A woman's ovaries shut down during cancer treatment due to lower levels of estrogen in the body. This means they also stop producing testosterone. This important hormone is associated with a woman's libido. Decreased estrogen also causes vaginal dryness, which can make sex uncomfortable or painful and can reduce a woman's ability to have an orgasm.
Emotional Changes
Emotional responses to breast cancer can also trigger loss of sexual desire. It's understandable that a woman may feel anxiety, depression or stress during and after breast cancer treatment. How she or her partner perceives her body may also change, particularly after surgery to remove a breast or after she loses her hair.
Breast cancer treatments can cause other side effects, including skin sensitivity, nausea due to certain scents, genital pain, premature menopause, fatigue and fertility problems.
Coping Post Treatment
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