|  | At some times during your treatment you may be advised by your doctor that it is not safe for you to have sexual intercourse. This is because you are more susceptible to bleeding. If you are having sex it is sensible to use a condom and water-based lubricant to minimise the risk of bleeding and, as always, infection. Using a condom and avoiding oral sex is also important directly following administration of chemotherapy as some drugs can be excreted in body secretions such as semen or vaginal fluids.
Your treatment team may want you to reach a certain blood count before they think it is safe to resume sexual activity. Again, advice will vary from person to person.
No one should try to conceive during treatment for blood cancers because the anti-cancer drugs used in your treatment are toxic and damage the DNA that makes up your genes. Therefore there is a real risk of causing harm to the baby. For the same reason men should not try to become fathers during treatment because the drugs can damage sperm and increase the chance of abnormalities in the baby. Birth control should be used until your specialist has advised that it is safe to try to get pregnant.
One of the consequences of fatigue and/or anaemia is a lack of sex drive
in males - some of whom may have difficulty in achieving an erection. Although this can be a rather embarrassing topic to discuss either with your partner or health-care workers there is plenty of advice available that will help you in your unique situation. Women can also lose their sex drive during cancer treatment. Again there is lots of information and advice available from specialists, books and the Internet. |
| |
| |
"I was in my first proper relationship and had just started having sex before my diagnosis. I would like to have been told when I could have sex again but no one ever spoke to me about it. I was put on the pill to stop me from having periods, which could cause excessive bleeding but that was the only thing I was told"
| |
|
