When receiving treatment, many patients may ask about the relationship between chemotherapy and Sex, yet physicians seldom ever bring up the matter with their patients.

Many individuals lack awareness regarding the safety of sexual activity during cancer treatment and how it could alter their sexuality since it is rarely discussed.

Continue reading to learn how to maintain physical intimacy with your spouse while receiving cancer treatment and how chemo might impair your sex life.

Is Sexual Activity Safe During Chemotherapy?

As long as specific safety measures are maintained, having intercourse while receiving chemotherapy is usually regarded as safe. Chemotherapy patients may usually engage in sexual activity, but they must try to stay away from circumstances that can compromise their health or treatment.

Infections

While receiving chemotherapy, you can have a drop in your white blood cell count.2 This makes you more susceptible to infections. If your white blood cell count is low, having sex puts you at risk for infections.

Additionally, chemotherapy might reduce the quantity of platelets, which are blood cells that stick together to form blood clots and stop excessive bleeding.

If you have sex while your blood platelets are low, you might face serious bleeding. If you have a low blood platelet count, you could also bruise more easily when having sex.

When to Consult a Healthcare Professional

Inquire with your doctor about obtaining blood tests to evaluate your platelet and white blood cell counts in order to decide if it's okay for you to have sex while receiving chemotherapy.

Exposure

Following treatment, chemotherapy medications may persist in saliva, semen, and vaginal secretions for up to three days. It is unclear if chemotherapy drugs may be transmitted sexually, but if you are intimate within the first few days following treatment, you may be more likely to expose a partner to the chemicals in chemotherapy drugs.

People who are exposed to chemotherapy medicines but are not receiving chemotherapy may incur negative health consequences such as:

A skin rash

unwell throat

persistent cough

Dizziness

Headaches

Eye discomfort

hair fall

Allergic responses

increased likelihood of getting cancer

Infertility

Miscarriage

Considerations

You could be advised to forgo sex until the region heals, depending on where the cancer is placed. For instance, if the cancer is in your genital region, urinary system, or rectum, you may need to refrain from sexual activity.

Chemotherapy may cause uncomfortable sexual encounters (dyspareunia). Even though you may not feel any discomfort, be sure to discuss it with your doctor if you do. There are methods to alleviate the discomfort and improve sex.

According to one research, women receiving treatment for breast cancer who applied a liquid lidocaine compress to their vaginal region before engaging in sexual activity had less discomfort during the intimacy.

Pregnancy, Fertility, and Protection

Use birth control if you intend to have sex while getting chemotherapy and you may become pregnant. Chemotherapy raises the likelihood of birth abnormalities in the developing baby during the first trimester, making pregnancy riskier while receiving the treatment.

Low birth weight and a higher chance of stillbirth have been linked to chemotherapy throughout the second and third trimesters.

Pregnancy Following Chemo

Chemotherapy sometimes results in infertility. After receiving therapy, many individuals do go on to become parents.

Ask your doctor when it will be okay for you to stop taking birth control and start trying to conceive if you want to become pregnant and have just had chemotherapy.

Libido Effects of Chemo

Chemotherapy might affect your libido and cause sex desire to be disrupted. Although this adverse effect of the medication is seldom discussed, it might negatively impact your close connections.

Not all forms of therapy are accompanied with sexual side effects. People who are receiving treatment for certain diseases, such prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and gynecological cancers, which include cancers of the cervix, ovaries, and uterus, are more likely to encounter them.

Chemotherapy drugs, in particular, have been linked to a decreased libido and may have a variety of effects on libido, including:

Chemotherapy has been reported to produce reduced libido as a side effect of medication. A reduced sex desire may also be caused by other adverse effects including exhaustion, nausea, and vomiting.

Body Image: Weight loss or increase, hair loss, and other chemotherapy side effects may have an impact on a person's perception of their body. These changes may lead someone to lose confidence in themselves, and one's self-perception greatly influences their desire for intimacy.

How to Maintain Your Sexuality During Chemotherapy

The pleasure of being intimate with your spouse might be hampered by chemotherapy, but there are things you can do to make it more pleasant.

Establish Communication Channels

Your spouse could feel rejected and unloved if you no longer want sexual connection but do not tell them about it. Regarding how your therapy has changed the physical element of your relationship, you will want to be open and honest with one other.

Maintaining an intimacy level that is agreeable to both you and your spouse may be achieved by having open conversation.

Partner Games

It's crucial to ease back into sexual intimacy when you and your partner are ready to attempt it. Utilize any concepts you may have discussed before.

Keep in mind that physical closeness involves more than just sexual activity. The chance to rekindle your desire for sexual contact may be pleasant and thrilling when you experiment with new methods to be physically intimate. Try alternative positions to make sex more pleasant if you're in agony.

Going alone

Being intimate with someone else might be challenging or even unwanted at times. When you're experiencing this, you may desire to independently explore your sexuality.

The American Cancer Society states that while you are healing from chemotherapy, self-stimulation might help you gradually reintroduce sexual sensations.

It may also assist you in locating any potential uncomfortable or painful body parts. As a result, when you do engage in sexual activity, you will be aware of what hurts and be able to discuss these sensitive regions in advance.

Resources

Couples therapy is a resource you may look into with your spouse since it can help you both understand how your partner feels about how your physical connection is right now.

If the subject is delicate, it might sometimes be advantageous to have a third party mediate the talk. In this situation, a sex therapist might assist you in identifying and resolving barriers to sexual expression.

After cancer treatment, finding a therapist who can assist you in overcoming any issues with body image may help you regain your self-esteem. Your desire to engage in physical intimacy can therefore rise.

You have a variety of options, according to the American Psychological Association, for addressing diminished libido and sexual dysfunction brought on by chemotherapy.

Try psychotherapy, mindfulness-based techniques, and couples counseling with a spouse, for instance.

Chemotherapy side effects including sexual dysfunction may make a person feel worse about themselves, which can lead to issues in personal relationships.

In addition to the potential physical side effects of treatment, such as diminished libido, engaging in sexual activity while receiving chemotherapy has additional health concerns that may make it difficult to engage in.

In order for your healthcare professionals to assist you reclaim your sexual life following treatment, you should discuss your sexual needs, wants, and concerns with them if you are receiving chemotherapy. Your healthcare physician may be able to put you in touch with a couples or sex therapist.

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