There are a wide range of thoughts and emotions that accompany a cancer
\ndiagnosis that are completely normal. However, these thoughts and
\nfeelings may not feel normal because you may not have felt them before.
\nSymptoms of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and relationship
\nchallenges very typically occur along with all the effects of cancer or
\nits treatment. However, discussions about sex are often neglected by
\nhealth professionals and patients.<\/p>\n
Many people are not comfortable discussing sex, especially cancer
\npatients who are dealing with life-changing issues and have more stressful
\nand life-threatening concerns on their minds.<\/p>\n
But should the topic of sex be equally important to those with cancer?
\nOf course.<\/p>\n
I have often found in my work as a mental health counselor, that couples
\nare very interested in learning about how to have sex comfortably and
\nsafely during and after cancer treatment.<\/p>\n
A cancer patient and their partner often have questions about sexual
\nintimacy due to a loss in the cancer sufferer’s libido (sex drive) or
\nnegative sexual functions that can result from the cancer treatment. As
\na result, they look for advice from their doctor and\/or other health
\ncare professionals to gain a better understanding of the affects of
\ntreatment and how it affects their sex drive so they can continue to
\nenjoy having sex as they did before diagnosis with cancer.<\/p>\n
The difficulty with talking about sex, falls not only upon the patient,
\nbut upon doctors too. Many doctors will often avoid the subject or wait
\nfor the patient to raise it. Yet, a cancer patients and their
\ncaregivers often wants information to understand how treatment will
\naffect their sexual desire and function.<\/p>\n
One study suggests, that: “Health professionals may also believe their
\ndiscussions [about sex] may be construed as disrespectful and
\ninappropriate by the patient, with research suggesting that gender, age,
\nculture, socioeconomic factors, and religion all contribute to health
\nprofessionals’ avoidance of the topic…” (Asia-Pacific Journal of
\nClinical Oncology, 2009).<\/p>\n
In my experience as a counselor, whom has provided therapy for cancer
\npatients, it’s easy to understand how concerns about sex may go
\nunattended to because both patients and physicians are unwilling to
\nengage in dialogue about the topic.<\/p>\n
Raising this issue with your doctor is important because many newly
\ndiagnosed patients and their partners may not be aware of the safety
\nissues involving sex, cancer, and treatment.<\/p>\n
Whether or not your doctor raises the issue, you should be brave and
\nraise the issues and questions you have about cancer treatment and sex.<\/p>\n
As a guide, here are some helpful questions in which you can ask your
\ndoctor about sex and mesothelioma:<\/p>\n
Do I need to take precautions during intercourse while I am on
\nchemotherapy?<\/p>\n
How will treatment affect my energy levels and libido?<\/p>\n
How soon after surgery or a procedure can I have sex?<\/p>\n
Is it safe for me to physically exert myself during sex while I am on
\ntreatment?<\/p>\n
Have other patients receiving the same treatment reported side effects
\nthat impact sex?<\/p>\n
Is oral sex safe during treatment?<\/p>\n
How will treatment affect my hormone levels?<\/p>\n
Will I be able to have children after I finish treatment?<\/p>\n
How will treatment affect my fertility?<\/p>\n
When you or a loved one are battling cancer, so many things do not feel
\nnormal. Sometimes, sex can return some sense of normalcy. It can also
\nimprove a couple’s quality of life during this difficult time. It may
\ntake some courage to raise concerns and questions about sex to your
\ndoctor, which may not be easy, but most patients find the payoff in
\nhaving discussions about sex while battling cancer is well worth the
\neffort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are a wide range of thoughts and emotions that accompany a cancer diagnosis that are completely normal. However, these thoughts and feelings may not feel normal because you may not have felt them before. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and relationship challenges very typically occur along with all the effects of cancer or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,13,8,4,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/therapistnutritionistorlando.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}