The Elephant in the Room is Cancer. Tea is the Relief Conversation Provides.

Sexuality

Sexuality, wellness and fertility are topics that aren’t talked about enough but are extremely important to the AYA cancer community. Check out stories and experiences that can help educate you on what to expect with sexual health, fertility and wellness. Have an experience or story that you’d like to share with the community?  Let us know about it!

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Help! I’m in Hot Flash Hell!

by Marloe Esch RN, BSN, OCN July 23, 2021

Hot flashes and night sweats are common side effects of cancer treatment. Although hot flashes themselves are not unsafe or unhealthy, they can be extremely disruptive and distressing. The good news is that there are options available to help you find relief.  

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Advocating for your Body in the Bedroom

by Lindsay Durrenberger

Suddenly, the body I once knew — the body that ran half marathons and excelled in dance classes and mastered a crow pose in yoga and tackled other bodies in rugby and sexually satisfied my husband and grew, birthed, and nursed two babies — was foreign to me in every sense of the word.

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Cancer Talk

by Riley Anne July 19, 2021

Sex….let’s talk about it. Sex is viewed as a taboo topic for most, but you know what else is? Cancer! Let’s put both topics together and talk about them.

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How PCHP Led Me to Love (Myself)

by Emily Ward July 8, 2021

So long as every person involved is a consenting adult, there is no wrong way to engage in sexual intimacy. In fact, I have found my experiences to be deeply liberating and a confirmation that we are all deserving of intimacy and pleasure regardless of our disability, illness, or trauma if that’s what we desire. 

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Intimate Issues with Marloe: Your Brain in the Bedroom

by Marloe Esch RN, BSN, OCN

While it’s true that the physiological aspects of sexual functioning, like vaginal lubrication, erection, and orgasm, are impacted in part by both our hormones and the health of the blood vessels and nerves that supply our nether-regions, that’s not the whole story. 

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Embody Your Body

by Marloe Esch RN, BSN, OCN March 14, 2021

Cancer is not just life-changing; it can be body-altering as well.  We lose body parts to surgery and our hair with chemo.  We acquire scars, develop lymphedema, and experience weight fluctuations. 

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Even Cancer Patients Like Sex

by Amanda Ferraro February 7, 2021

I know this topic is peculiar to talk about but as an adult it is a natural occurrence. Let’s talk about sex! I know you squirmed a little bit reading that and to be honest I am a little uncomfortable too, but I do not know why.

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Sexy Soul Search

by Cat Phillips November 16, 2020

In 2010 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and then breast cancer in 2011. I went through chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, as well as holistic and integrative treatments.

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Dating After Cancer: The Disclosure Dilemma

by Marloe Esch RN, BSN, OCN October 26, 2020

The idea of getting close to someone new after a cancer diagnosis can be nerve-wracking.  I mean, cancer has changed so many things already; what if it’s also changed what a romantic relationship could look like? 

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Speaking of Sex: Be H.E.A.R.D.!

by Marloe Esch RN, BSN, OCN June 29, 2020

But often, such conversations are an important and necessary part of addressing any worries, concerns, or questions you might have about your sex life.  Cancer can change how our bodies look or how they respond to sexual touch, how we feel about our appearance, and our interest in being sexual.  And yeah, bringing up any of these sensitive topics with your partner can feel really awkward.  But is it impossible?  Of course not!  

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