Sex after cancer: how couples can learn to be intimate again, as one wife and husband did after surgery triggered menopause
- Cancer treatments can cause physiological changes that affect patients’ ability to feel in the mood for sex
- A workshop run by Hong Kong Cancer Fund is helping couples rediscover their sex lives by broadening their views of intimacy
When cancer strikes, it is not just a physical blow – it also has a strong impact on one’s intimate life. Alana Chow and Ronald Koo (not their real names), both in their mid-30s and together for 10 years, learned this the hard way.
Chow survived thyroid cancer in 2017, as well as stage 1B endometrial cancer in 2018, thanks to radiotherapy as well as surgery to remove her Fallopian tubes and some parts of the lining of her uterus. Earlier this year, a routine ultrasound revealed an unusual growth in one of her ovaries.
It was early-stage ovarian cancer.
The married couple wanted a family and resumed their efforts to do so after Chow beat thyroid cancer. After the diagnosis of endometrial cancer, though, they put their family plans on hold, before Chow’s ovaries were removed. This triggered the start of her menopause, shattering their baby-making goals.
Chow wondered whether her marriage would fall apart after her operation. Thanks to the hormonal changes in her body, she felt “no desire” for sex.
“I was very scared he would just leave me,” she said, tearfully.