What aspects of sexual response (e.g., desire, arousal, orgasm, and sexual comfort) might change after breast cancer treatment?
Any or all aspects of sexual response might change after breast cancer treatment. The categories of sexual disorders include:
– Desire – motivation to engage in sexual activity or thoughts/fantasies about sexual intimacy.
– Arousal -mental and physical excitability in response to sexual stimulation. How does your vagina or vulva feel when stimulated? Some may experience a tingling or fullness in the pelvic region.
– Orgasm – a diminished, delayed, or absent peak in the intensity of sexual excitement.
– Sexual pain – genital and/or pelvic pain that occurs before, during, or after sexual activity. Pain may be on the inside (with vaginal pain) or the outside. Vulvar dryness may also cause sexual pain in some cancer patients, causing tenderness on penetration.
Approximately 10% to 70% of breast cancer survivors report that they struggle with libido. This is common when dealing with a serious medical health issue, as high levels of stress and changes in family and relationship dynamics may exist.
Physical discomfort, from mild irritation to severe sexual pain, is common in breast cancer survivors. Because of lowered estrogen levels in the body (from many cancer treatments), women may find that sexual stimulation no longer produces high levels of vaginal wetness and arousal. In addition, regardless of how “turned on” she feels before and during intercourse, a woman’s genitals might feel dry and raw, and she might experience pain with penetration and thrusting movements, making it much harder to reach an orgasm.
These very predictable changes require a little creativity for a woman and her partner. Sexually healthy survivors are able to explain to their partners that changes in lubrication needs and sexual discomfort are expected results from cancer treatments. Together, women and their partners can choose suitable vaginal moisturizers and vulvar lubricants and apply them before and during sex to make intercourse.
Terms:
Orgasm – The intense pleasurable sensation at the peak of sexual activity or sexual climax usually associated with spasmodic contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. It is often associated with ejaculation, especially in men.
Libido – Sexual interest or Desire
Estrogen – A steroid hormone produced mainly in the ovaries; the primary female sexual hormone.
Lubrication – The natural appearance of slippery secretions in the vagina during sexual arousal or the use of artificial lubricants to facilitate sexual activity or intercourse.
