Book review: on the touch, sexuality after cancer

Cancer patients receive far too little information about the impact of their disease and treatment on their sex lives. According to a 2021 study by Fight Against Cancer, three-fourths are left out in the cold: they have to experience firsthand how cancer treatments turn their sex lives upside down. This is especially true for hormone-sensitive cancers, including most breast, prostate, cervical and ovarian cancers. More than half of these patients experience sexual difficulty and need information.

Forced menopause

The book by Marieke Colpaert, who herself got breast cancer at a young age, and Marlies Meersman, psychotherapist and sexologist, fills the launch with their book 'Op de tast'. In it, numerous experts and witnesses speak about sexuality after cancer and reference is made to various studies on the subject. The book also covers Pink Ribbon's research on the impact of breast cancer on, among other things, the partner relationship. Both authors explain in smooth, accessible language what cancer treatments do to your body, how various therapies work and what it means, for example, when you suddenly, at a young age, enter menopause. Witness Marieke (36, breast cancer) explains that that sudden menopause came in very hard, after her second round of chemotherapy. An expert explains that such a forced menopause is indeed a shock to the young body, causing all kinds of menopausal symptoms to come on in full force, while as a breast cancer patient you absolutely must not take hormone replacement therapy. This hormone therapy is a blessing for some menopausal women, but having (had) breast cancer is a contraindication. Still, good information, tips and tools, such as cream for vaginal dryness, can provide relief. Vaginal dryness is also an important side effect of the antihormone therapy that women sometimes take for five years after their breast cancer treatment to prevent relapse. Several women testify in the book how they experienced this in concrete terms. It makes lovemaking virtually impossible, and sometimes fissures develop in the vaginal wall, making cycling, for example, painful. They can often be helped with a vaginal estrogen cream, which is safe to use by women with a history of breast cancer.

Pain-free positions

The book uses drawings here and there, for example to show which positions hurt the least during intercourse. There are also exercises, which you can do alone or with your partner, to get your sex life back on track. Unfortunately, neither information nor tips offer a guarantee of success, because everything hinges on what is left of your libido. If the sex drive is gone, exercises and pain-free positions do not help. The authors of 'Op de tast' do not in any way pretend to make sex after cancer pleasant and pain-free again, but they do make the problem discussable and bundle all possible information that can help couples in this process.

On the touch - Sexuality after breast cancer. Marieke Colpaert & Marlies Meersman. Borgerhoff & Lamberigts 2024. ISBN 9789464778113