“I feel like my body has betrayed me.” With these words, 34-year-old Brenna Khatimo describes her condition after being diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoing radiation therapy, having her breasts and ovaries removed, and taking medication to block the estrogen that is now left in her body.
“All the things that make a woman feel removed or stopped,” says Cattimo, of Wyoming, “like estrogen, progesterone, ovaries and breasts.”
She currently suffers from vaginal dryness, lack of sexual desire and difficulty in climaxing, and she does not feel any sensation in her breasts.
Gatimo like many others, AThey received a report from the Washington PostThey are cancer survivors, but they live with permanent changes, including their sexual functions.
Dan Dizon, professor of medicine and surgery at Brown University, said sexual problems after cancer treatment are a serious problem, especially when they don’t get the medical help they need.
Sharon Popper, director of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said the focus should not only be on survivors’ sexual functioning, but also on “a person’s overall sense of self and engagement with their partner.”
Jacob Lowe, 31, a fourth-year student at the University of Michigan Medical School, is struggling to date now that he was diagnosed with cancer in 2021. He is afraid to talk to people because he seems to be hiding something.
Louis suffers from low libido and erectile dysfunction, and now this sense of his body’s power has turned into a feeling of “like a wreck inside.”
As Kathimo tries to adjust to her new life, she struggles, “What if this didn’t happen? How would I be?”
The Washington Post reported a 2018 story of a 44-year-old man with rectal cancer who underwent chemotherapy and radiation and underwent surgery that resulted in the formation of a pouch known as an “ostomy bag.” outside the body.
The man, who asked not to be named for privacy reasons, said he felt “broken”. He points out that he now has to go to the bathroom to empty his bag for sex, and that he takes Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction.
Dan Dizon, a professor of medicine and surgery at Brown University, says it’s a common misconception that sexual problems in cancer patients are only related to sex-related types, “but that’s not true,” and there’s evidence that colon and lung cancers are the most common. Cancer, for example, is associated with sexual problems.
She also explains that chemotherapy itself can affect the lining of the vagina, which can cause pain during intercourse.
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