Puede experimentar cambios físicos y emocionales durante el tratamiento y después de este. Estos pueden afectar su deseo y capacidad para tener relaciones sexuales. Incluso los tratamientos que no están dirigidos a los órganos reproductivos pueden afectar lo siguiente:
la imagen corporal;
el estado de ánimo;
el nivel de energía;
el sentido de bienestar.
Women who survive gynecologic cancer have unique needs. Understanding and addressing these needs will help them celebrate and enjoy their lives after treatment ends.
Cancer treatment can cause physical and emotional changes, including to your sex life. Doctors call these types of changes "sexual side effects." They include changes in your interest in sex and your ability to take part in sexual activity.
Sexual side effects can be physical, mental, or emotional. Cancer treatment can affect your mood, body image, energy level, and sense of well-being. And all of these can affect your sex life.
Menopause is the natural end of your body's ability to become pregnant and have a child. Perimenopause is the time leading up to your last menstrual cycle and may begin in your 40s and can last several years. Your body begins to make less and less of the hormones needed for your menstrual cycle. Your ovaries stop releasing eggs and menstrual periods change and eventually stop. Menopause happens when you have not had a period for 12 months.
Menopause occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop releasing eggs.
During natural menopause, the body’s estrogen and progesterone hormone production decreases. This causes irregular menstrual periods that eventually stop. Typically, menopause starts around age 50. However, it may often start earlier or later.
For women with cancer, menopause may begin earlier. For example, some treatments cause the ovaries to stop working. This is called premature menopause. Learn more about long-term side effects of cancer treatment.
