Reclaiming Intimacy: A Guide to Sexual Health After Gynecological Cancer

Gynecological cancer refers to cancers that begin in a woman’s reproductive organs, including the uterus, ovaries, cervix, and vagina.

For many women who survive gynecological cancer, intimacy and sexual desire fade into silence. Partners often don’t ask, and the healthcare system rarely does ().

That silence—and its impact—has been the focus of Anita Paulsen, a nurse and sexologist at the University of Agder, who recently defended her doctoral thesis on sexual health communication after gynecological cancer.

Things Women Should Know About Gynecologic Cancer
Cancers arising from the organs of the female reproductive tract (uterine, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal cancers) are termed gynecologic cancers.

TOP INSIGHT

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“One couple I met had stopped being sexually active—but also stopped kissing and hugging. She missed it very much. There was so much sorrow there,” Paulsen recalls.

A Double Taboo

Paulsen’s research shows that sexuality is seldom addressed in cancer care. While treatment focuses on tumors, conversations about intimacy, desire, and identity often fall away.

Patients assume that if healthcare professionals don’t raise the issue, it must not matter. Nurses, meanwhile, admit they often avoid the subject because they lack time, training, or confidence in how to ask.

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“The result is a double taboo,” Paulsen explains. “Both the patient and the health professional wait for the other to open the door to conversation.”

As part of her doctoral work under the LETSGO study, Paulsen interviewed 17 women who survived gynecological cancer and 10 nurses working in oncology. She tested a model where nurses routinely asked about sexuality during follow-up visits.

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The women reported that even simple acknowledgments—such as “It’s normal not to want sex right now, and that’s okay”—were profoundly validating.

The participating nurses did not have specialist training in sexology but received basic instruction on how cancer treatments can affect sexuality and how to approach the subject with sensitivity. They could also refer patients for further support if needed.

Women and Cancer
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After Gynecological Cancer: Intimacy and Sexuality in a New Light

For some survivors, intimacy after cancer took on new meaning. A few women described finding greater peace and a more relaxed attitude toward sex, supported by partners who adapted to their changing needs. Others expressed deep grief about lost desire, altered bodies, and a sense of self that felt diminished.

Paulsen stresses that sexuality must be seen in its broadest sense. “It’s about identity, body, intimacy, and joy in life. Also after cancer,” she says.

Her research highlights the need for routine, compassionate conversations about sexuality in cancer care—conversations that could restore not just intimacy, but dignity and wholeness for survivors.

Reference:

Cancer didn't take their life - but their desire - (https://www.uia.no/english/research/research-news/health-and-sport-sciences/cancer-didnt-take-life-but-desire.html)

Source-Medindia