When you’re going through chemotherapy as part of your cancer treatment, you’ll probably have questions about which activities are safe and which ones you might want to avoid until you’re feeling a little better. It’s normal to have lots of questions during this time, so be sure to talk to your care team before you go down an internet rabbit hole.
During chemotherapy treatment, an aggressive form of chemical drug therapy is given either through a pill or injected directly into your veins or through an IV. A traditional chemotherapy approach uses cytotoxic drugs to destroy cancer cells. Wherever you are in your therapy treatment, to talk to your doctor about your particular regimen, your type of cancer, and how you’ll be feeling after each treatment – and if you’ll be feeling well enough to have sex.
There are chemotherapy medications that can pass through to your partner through semen or vaginal fluids, so it’s recommended that you use a condom while going through your chemotherapy treatment for a week after each treatment.
Additionally, chemotherapy can sometimes make sex uncomfortable for both you and your partner, by causing vaginal dryness and/or erectile dysfunction. These side effects can stick around for months after your treatment ends, so talk to your doctor about what you can do to feel better if you choose to stay sexually active throughout your therapy. With cancers of the genital tract, urinary tract, anus, or rectum, you may need to steer clear of sexual intercourse until you’re healed, for fear of pain, bleeding, or general discomfort.
If you and your partner are concerned and looking for advice on how to stay emotionally, intimately, and sexually active, ask your care team for a referral to someone who’s been trained to help. Whether you enlist the advice of a certified sex therapist, psychologist, or counselor for guidance, they’re each trained to answer your questions with a sense of empathy, informed knowledge of your challenges and recommended therapies to help you and your partner get back to some semblance of normalcy – both during and after your chemotherapy treatment ends.
If you would like to connect with an Outcomes4Me oncology nurse practitioner at no charge through the Outcomes4Me app, using the “Ask Outcomes4Me” button.
