Having cervical cancer can affect your sexuality in physical and emotional ways. The impact of these changes depends on many things, such as the treatments you have and any side effects, whether you have a partner, and your overall self-confidence.
Learn more about:
Low libido
A lack of interest in sex or loss of desire is common during and after treatment. This may be because of the worry of having cancer and the side effects of treatment. If you do not feel like having sex, or if you find it uncomfortable, let your partner know. Learn some ways to manage sexual changes.
Vaginal changes
The main side effect of treatment for cervical cancer will be to the vagina. If the ovaries have been affected by surgery or radiation therapy, they will no longer produce oestrogen. This will cause your vagina to become very dry and it may not expand easily during sexual intercourse. Radiation therapy to the pelvic area can also cause vaginal tissue to lose its elasticity and shrink, narrowing the vagina. This is called vaginal stenosis.
If vaginal changes make sexual penetration difficult or painful, you may have to explore different ways to enjoy sex. Even if you don’t plan to have sex, your doctor will need to do regular pelvic examinations after treatment, so it’s important to prevent vaginal stenosis.
Learn some ways to keep your vagina open and more elastic. If you need more support resuming sexual activity, ask your doctor for a referral to a sexual therapist or psychologist, and see Sexuality, intimacy and cancer.
→ READ MORE: Managing changes in your sex life
Using vaginal dilators helped. The plastic vaginal dilators the hospital gave me were sturdy, white and horrible…so I bought my own. Buying pretty, silicone dilators gave me a sense of control, and they were a lot more comfortable to use.
Jane
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Prof Martin Oehler, Director of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, and Clinical Professor, University of Adelaide, SA; Dawn Bedwell, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council QLD; Gemma Busuttil, Radiation Therapist, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, NSW; Dr Antonia Jones, Gynaecological Oncologist, The Royal Women’s Hospital and Mercy Hospital for Women, VIC; Angela Keating, Senior Psychologist, Royal Hospital for Women, NSW; Anne Mellon, Clinical Nurse Consultant – Gynaecological Oncology, Hunter New England Centre for Gynaecological Cancer, NSW; Dr Inger Olesen, Medical Oncologist, Andrew Love Cancer Centre, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC; Dr Serena Sia, Radiation Oncologist, Fiona Stanley Hospital and King Edward Memorial Hospital, WA; A/Prof Megan Smith, Co-lead, Cervical Cancer and HPV Stream, The Daffodil Centre, Cancer Council NSW and The University of Sydney, NSW; Emily Stevens, Gynaecology Oncology Nurse Coordinator, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Melissa Whalen, Consumer.
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