Those living with the disease shoulder far more than just a diagnosis; they experience treatment side effects that impact their quality of life and their intimacy. Patients and experts revealed to Infobae Colombia what the sex life of people with cancer is like, and how it is being addressed within the medical field.
However, beyond all these adverse reactions, there are two key aspects of people’s lives that are also affected by disease treatments: sexuality—understood as intimacy—and sexual health. This was explained to *Infobae Colombia* by physician and surgeon Alexandra Caballero Guzmán, who holds a master’s degree in sexual and reproductive health and serves as a lecturer in Oncosexology and Palliative Care Sexology at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá.
Sexual Relations: How Treatments Impact Intimacy
According to the expert, certain cancer treatments—such as chemotherapy—trigger the suppression of sex hormones in specific patients, who subsequently experience uncomfortable and painful symptoms about which they are not always informed.
In women, the decline of these hormones “translates into something akin to menopause (…). A person could undergo chemotherapy treatments starting as early as age 14. Consequently, one could be in a state of induced menopause from a very young age. And typically, this is not explained to patients.”
This manifests as the cessation of menstruation, emotional shifts, psychological issues, and a diminished sex drive—challenges that some men with cancer also face, in addition to erectile dysfunction.
On the other hand, both men and women can suffer from “mucositis”—that is, inflammation, ulceration, and redness of the areas of the body containing mucous membranes. In an interview with *Infobae Colombia*, Yenny Pinzón described the condition in detail, drawing upon her own experience.
“Those mucous membranes become terribly delicate because they dry out due to the treatment; this dryness leads to bleeding, pain, and a burning sensation, and fissures open up in the membranes,” she explained. “My eyes dried out and bled. My nose dried out; it bled. I also developed blisters inside my mouth.”
According to surgeon Caballero, women may also develop Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause—a cluster of symptoms that cause “atrophy” and vaginal dryness.
Both the syndrome and mucositis cause significant discomfort for patients. There is a sensation of irritation “even when wearing underwear,” which means that sexual intimacy is often ruled out as well. “Having sex becomes very difficult because it hurts and burns; you really don’t want to do it anymore because, well, you feel so much pain,” Yenny noted. “You can’t even touch yourself, because it burns and hurts.”
Intimacy was put on hold for a time with a partner she had at the time. They discussed the issue, and she even showed him the condition of her body to demonstrate why having sex was no longer an option.
“I told him—and I actually showed him—I said: ‘Look at the state I’m in.’ I mean, I’m simply unable to engage in sexual intimacy because I can’t bear the discomfort. The pain and irritation caused by this situation are just overwhelming,” she explained.
Furthermore, based on the recommendations she received from the medical staff treating her, it was best to avoid intimacy during chemotherapy. The body’s mucous membranes must not come into contact with another person’s body, because “that person would experience the same effects as if they were undergoing chemotherapy themselves.” Her parents also received a cancer diagnosis, and all three confronted the disease at practically the same time. Thus, while Yenny was experiencing the symptoms of this condition, she observed how her mother and father were going through similar situations.
In his case, sex also vanished; her father experienced very painful side effects that diminished his quality of life and intimacy. “He could no longer have sexual relations with my mom because his penis would become inflamed. It was truly shocking to witness… It was as if the tip of his penis were about to burst… cracks would open up,” she detailed.
A cancer diagnosis, in and of itself, can strain romantic relationships, and the side effects stemming from treatment often make matters worse. According to Yenny, in many instances, dating relationships or marriages end for precisely this reason.
“During the time he was undergoing chemotherapy, I saw many husbands abandon their wives right in the middle of their treatment. They left them behind; they would walk out of the house—the wives would go off to their chemo sessions, and when they returned, their husbands were gone,” she noted.
Sexual Health and Self-Perception: “I Look in the Mirror and Feel Ashamed”
Diana Laverde, a 47-year-old woman, has gone through similar experiences. At one point, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent surgery to treat it. Later, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer; she had her ovaries removed and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
Among the side effects she has had to cope with following these procedures are hormonal changes, which triggered the onset of menopausal symptoms earlier than expected. She suffers from hot flashes that, in addition to disrupting her daily routine, make life as a couple difficult. “Right now, I don’t have a partner; I sleep alone, and I tell myself: ‘No one would be able to tolerate me,’ because I’m constantly swinging between feeling burning hot and freezing cold,” she explained.
Furthermore, due to the surgeries she underwent, her body has also changed. She says she has a “little belly” that now “protrudes completely,” a physical change that has undermined her confidence and her comfort level when it comes to being intimate with someone. “It’s awful. Physically, I look at myself in the mirror and I feel ashamed; I feel ashamed to show my body. Until you can comfortably accept yourself, you certainly don’t think about intimacy,” she recounted.
Additionally, she experienced mucositis in her mouth and in her perineum—the patch of skin located between the vaginal opening (or the scrotum in men) and the anus. “I didn’t know I was going to break out in bumps.”
The information she received from her oncologist and the medical staff at the oncology center treating her focused on certain side effects of chemotherapy—such as dryness of the skin and other parts of the body—but she was not clearly instructed on how to prevent or manage these symptoms.
It was not until she attended a follow-up appointment to describe what she was experiencing that she received guidance on the matter. At that point, she was prescribed a cream to heal the lesions and advised to perform mouth rinses and sitz baths using baking soda.
However, according to the study “Prevention and treatment of oral mucositis: the efficacy of sodium bicarbonate versus other agents: a systematic review”—published in the National Library of Medicine by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)—there is no evidence to support the use of baking soda specifically for the management and prevention of oral mucositis.
The patient stated that she did experience some improvement, though she explained that using baking soda is tricky because—particularly in the vaginal area—it can actually increase dryness.
Separately, regarding sexual health, the medical staff noted that certain cancer treatments—such as chemotherapy—cause immunosuppression; that is, a weakening of the immune system. Consequently, they recommended avoiding high-risk situations that could facilitate the transmission of bacterial or fungal infections. This includes sexual intercourse.
“You have to be careful with sex. You can bleed profusely. So, you have to be cautious during intimacy, because sometimes that physical contact causes abrasions, and you start to bleed. It’s a very sensitive area,” she explained. Yenny also received incomplete information regarding all the changes her body would undergo due to her cancer treatment. She received care through her health insurance provider and at an oncology center, where she attended educational sessions focused—among other things—on the need to boost her immune system and on changes affecting the mucous membranes.
“But they never mentioned the genital area, and they never touched upon the subject of intimacy. When everything started happening to me, I asked myself: ‘What on earth is this?’” she confessed.
Consequently, she sought outside help. She consulted with an association for women with breast cancer as well as with the Colombian League Against Cancer, where she received guidance specifically tailored to the symptoms she was experiencing as a result of her treatment.
She was prescribed natural lubricants and vaginal suppositories to hydrate and regenerate the mucous membranes. This approach was completely different from the recommendation she had received from a gynecologist she had consulted regarding her situation; he had simply prescribed conventional lubricants.
“Commercial lubricants contain parabens. Parabens stimulate hormonal activity, and in my case—since I have a hormone-driven cancer—they immediately trigger a surge in cancer cells,” she noted.
With the appropriate products…
