Cancer and Its Effects on Your Libido
The actual act of kissing, caressing and sex with your significant other when going through treatment for cancer can work wonders on the morale and boost your self esteem. It is natural to find that the behavior of your libido differs from the time you were receiving treatment and when you go into remission and stop receiving it. This is a very popular and common problem that many cancer patients endure when they have gone through treatment.
A significant bulk of the reasoning for the loss of your libido can probably be pinned on the physical changes you endure through your treatment. For example, it is commonplace for women who are receiving cancer treatment to experience problems that are associated with early menopause such as, irritability, and hot flashes. For men it is typical to experience erectile problems and loss of sexual appetite when suffering through the rigors of cancer treatment.
Cancer is primarily known as a disease that affects the physical aspect of people but for many the disease is a mental battle and emotional factors play a large role in coming out victorious. These same emotions can end up playing a significant role in how your libido performs, during and after your treatment. It is vital that your remain stolid in your goals and like all the problems that you have faced and conquered in the midst of battling cancer, you sort out and resolve the issue of your libido malfunctioning, which could be cause by an array of emotions.
Some people relate their contracting cancer with the act of sex and this spawns a guilt that has an adverse affect on the libido and causes them to lose the desire to intimate. Sex cannot cause cancer and you should rid yourself of these thoughts. Although some diseases such as HPV can eventually cause cancer in the sexual organs, you still should not associate the act of being intimate with the reasoning behind your cancer.
For some there is are fears that you may some how pass your cancer on to your partner and that by having intercourse or sharing intimacy you are putting them in danger. Some people also fear that a sexual encounter will cause them to get cancer again. Sexual encounters have nothing to do with whether or not you will become ill again. Considering that cancer is a non-communicable disease, it is impossible to pass cancer on to another person. This being stated, you should begin ridding yourself of these types of thoughts.
Feelings of apathy and worthlessness are often commonplace in cancer patients. These feelings and leave you devoid of intimate desire and cause you to feel like you are undesirable and even create thoughts that you do not deserve to feel intimate pleasure. This is very taxing on the libido and if you have persistent signs of depression it is imperative that you consult your physician and sort the matter out.
The significant changes to your appearance that you go through doing cancer treatment may cause you to feel self conscious. The loss of hair and sex organs such as testicles and breast may make you feel less of a person or that you are somewhat unattractive or defective. These are crude and inaccurate labels to put on yourself. You have to realize that the measures you and your family have taken to beat cancer were necessary to live and for that you deserve a deep appreciation and commandment. You should love not loathe your self image and be unafraid of what people think of your aesthetic appearance, for just as it changed in the treatment of cancer, it shall change in your healing. Your significant other will surely accept you either way, especially if they were their for you when your appearance began to change.
For people who have had certain appendages and organs removed due to cancer treatment, feelings of grief and loss are common and should be dealt with. These feelings can be very taxing on the libido and decrease the desire to be intimate considerably. It is important that you not view your situation as a breeding ground for grief. You must take a positive outlook on your circumstances and realize the actions taken were done to save your life.
Think of Your Partner
You should communicate with your significant other and find out how they feel about intimacy. You should also tell them about how you feel, to prevent confusion and the feeling of rejection when you lack the desire to be intimate. The experience of cancer is often a personal and collective time. Meaning that what you experience your partner experiences and the issue of libido and intimacy should be shared and sorted out accordingly.
Loss of libido can prove to be an arduous issue to overcome but just as you defeated cancer or are in the process of defeating cancer, you will come out victorious, just so as you maintain a positive attitude and never lose your desire to fight.
