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Most people can still enjoy sex and intimacy after cancer treatment, even if they need to make changes. Learn about the effects of cancer treatment on your body that could affect your sexuality and what to do if some of these effects cause sexual problems for you and your partner. Nausea and vomiting is another side effect that many patients say affects their desire for sex. Changes to your sexual response – cancer treatment can change your sexual response. Hormone therapy can affect your sex drive. Although people more commonly lose weight during cancer treatment, some people gain weight. Slight increases in weight during cancer treatment are generally not problematic. However, significant weight gain may affect a person's health and ability to undergo treatment. Weight gain is an especially important health issue for women with breast cancer because more than half experience weight gain during treatment. Reports have shown that weight gain during treatment is linked to a poorer prognosis, which is the chance of recovery. The following cancer treatments may lead to weight gain: Chemotherapy. Some chemotherapy causes the body to hold on to excess fluid in cells and tissues, which is called edema. In addition, chemotherapy often causes people to reduce physical activity, usually because of fatigue. Fatigue can be one of the first symptoms of cancer. It could be because there is cancer in the bone marrow and that slows down the production of red blood cells, causing anaemia. A cancer that affects your hormone levels could cause fatigue. Anaemia. Cancer treatment can affect your bone marrow, which is why it often causes fatigue. The bone marrow is where your body makes red blood cells. Some cancers can also affect your bone marrow, giving you a lower than normal red blood cell count (anaemia). Red blood cells carry oxygen around your body Surgery for cancer of the penis When a man has cancer in his penis, the best treatment may be removing part or all of the penis. This surgery is rare, but it can have a huge impact on a man’s self-image and his sex life. The surgeons try to save as much of the penis as they can, but all of the cancer must be removed. Surgery and sex Surgery in the lower belly and pelvis area can affect a man’s sex life in different ways. Some operations cause more sex problems than others. For instance, a man will not be able to get full erections if most of the organs in his pelvis (bladder, prostate, rectum, and more) are removed. Sexuality and cancer. Cancer and its treatment can affect your sexuality and sexual function. It can also affect your sexual partners and your relationships. For many people, sexuality is a personal subject that is hard to talk about openly, either with sexual partners or with healthcare professionals. Nausea and vomiting is another side effect that many patients say affects their desire for sex. Changes to your sexual response – cancer treatment can change your sexual response. Hormone therapy can affect your sex drive. Treatment for prostate cancer can cause a variety of side effects. Any of these can affect your sex life, some more than others. Some men worry that they may pass the cancer to their partner but this is not true. Cancer is not infectious and can't be passed on to a sexual partner. Treatment for prostate cancer can cause a variety of side effects. Any of these can affect your sex life, some more than others. You will not have all the side effects mentioned on this page. The effects you have will depend on the treatment you have had. If you are eating fewer calories than your body needs, you may start to feel tired and weak. This is very common in people with cancer. Diarrhoea and being sick (vomiting) are other side effects of treatment that can cause fatigue. Your cancer may affect the way your body processes food (your metabolism). Anaemia. Cancer treatment can affect your bone marrow, which is why it often causes fatigue. The bone marrow is where your body makes red blood cells. Some cancers can also affect your bone marrow, giving you a lower than normal red blood cell count (anaemia). Red blood cells carry oxygen around your body Some surgeries for cancer can cause permanent infertility. In men, the testicles make sperm and the male sex hormones. The prostate is a gland that makes fluid that, along with sperm, forms the semen. Removing 1 testicle shouldn’t affect a man’s fertility. If the reproductive system is damaged, it can affect a man’s ability to father children or a woman’s ability to become pregnant. Infertility, or the inability to conceive a child, can be a concern for some people after treatment is finished. How cancer treatment can affect sexual desire and response. These are some general changes in sexual desire and response that may be linked to cancer and cancer treatment. Specific changes linked to certain types of treatment are covered in more detail in the next sections. Both men and women often lose interest in sexual activity during cancer treatment, at least for a time. That’s why, after some types of cancer treatment, a man may still desire sex and be able to ejaculate but not have an erection. Other men may have the feeling of orgasm along with the muscles contracting in rhythm, even though semen no longer comes out.
http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-journey/living-with-cancer/sexuality-and-cancer/?region=bc http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/side-effects/weight-gain http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping-with-cancer/coping-physically/fatigue/causes-of-fatigue http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003232-pdf.pdf http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-journey/living-with-cancer/sexuality-and-cancer/?region=bc http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type/prostate-cancer/living/sex-and-prostate-cancer http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping-with-cancer/coping-physically/fatigue/causes-of-fatigue http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/diagnosis-and-treatment/managing-side-effects/fertility-problems/?region=on http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/physicalsideeffects/sexualsideeffectsinmen/sexualityfortheman/sexuality-for-men-with-cancer-treatment-and-desire-and-response
can cancer treatment affect a man's metabolism