Chemo & Radiation induced sexual dysfunction

Trubrit

danker said:

ERECTIONS

As I approach my 84th birthday,I find the comments almost humorous!  I cannot even remember  my last erection. LOL

Danker....

As long as YOU stand erect, thats all that matters. 

HGUS!

Sue - Trubrit

Helen321

danker said:

ERECTIONS

As I approach my 84th birthday,I find the comments almost humorous!  I cannot even remember  my last erection. LOL

lol Danker, you make my day

lol Danker, you make my day all the time.  I would have liked to be saying something similar at 84, sadly I'm 46.  Thankfully, I have a fabulous personality if I do say so myself. As the saying goes . . .  If like throws you a lemon, cut that bad boy open and throw it at someone because life didn't also throw you sugar and water dummy.  Can't change what cards I've been dealt but I can accept them and move on with what I do have and I have a heck of a lot to offer . . .and I don't even have to stop for long bathroom breaks on road trips!  lol

Helen321

Lovekitties said:

He should have been warned

Sexual complications or disfunction can certainly be caused by radiation to the pelvic area.  I have not heard of chemo causing the same, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

When it comes to quality of life, it seems to me that all topics should be discussed, when determining treatments.  I suspect, but have no facts to back it up, that some doctors will not offer such information for fear the patient will then determine not to have said treatment. 

When dealing with any type of cancer, straight talk and all available information are key to our survival.  If a doctor can't do that, one needs another doctor.  If the patient can't handle that, then they need to take a hard look at their life priorities and be sure they would trade one for the other.

Marie who loves kitties

I'm just now catching up on

I'm just now catching up on this thread.  Truth be told, if I knew what I knew now I NEVER would have had the APR and ostomy.  The doctor did not give me the slightest clue how bad life would become.  Three years of depression. I'm finally now seeing the other side of things and starting to fully accept my new body.  I don't really remember what going to the bathroom feels like until I get phantom pains which are so rare now.  I'm not even sure the doctors know some of these things, they've never asked me about any of it, never said and what are you experiencing physically and emotionally.  There is a disconnect among the oncologists, physical therapists and psychiatrists.  They each deal with their own nitch and don't deal with the patient as a whole.  I had the choice of skipping the surgery.  The surgeon said the risk was extremely high not to do it so I went for it.  Being cancer free and knowing what I know now, it is easy to say I would never do this again and wish I hadn't.  Of course, easy for me to say with hindsight. When you're in the battle, the anxiety is so high, once you're out as time passes you get back to mild anxiety.  I'm hoping eventually to have no anxiety.

Helen321

ron50 said:

Hi Sue

   As you know I have a raft of problems stemming from chemo. The trouble is that there are few around except Foxy (Virginia from New Zealand) who were on levamisole mostly because it was banned for human use around 200-2001. Virginia ,like me, suffers from auto-immune problems that they cannot put a name to. I have suffered severe peripheral neuropathy from a short time after chemo therapy. I have been diagnosed with auto immune nephrotic syndrome causing protein loss up to 7 grams a day. On cyclosporine I maintain my loss at around 1 gram a day. I have just seen an endo cronologist who believes my endocrine problems are also auto immune . My testosterone levels of a morning are 5.2 , the norm baseline being from 8-18. My nephrologist has tested me for auto-immune hepatitis and has found I vary from mild to moderate. I have medication induced type two diabetes (prednisone ,75 mg a day for nearly two years) and I have moderate premature ventricular and atrial ectopic heartbeats (10,299 a day at last count). It has cost me over a hundred thousand dollars in specialists since cancer and not one has been able to give me a cause or suggest a treatment for any of them except my nephrologist who freely admits that he does not know what caused my kidney disease but has been lucky to find a treatment that has kept me alive, He freely acknowledges that most of my auto immune problems are the result of the chemo I had and he also knows that the treatment he is using is highly likely to cause more cancer including skin and myeloma as well as other blood cancers.. My wife did not leave only for the lack of initimacy she just got tired of dealing with non stop illness. Ron .

I know you hate when I say

I know you hate when I say this but you remain my hero.  You are an incredible person and have tolerated more than what most people can deal with and have done it with grace even if grace includes the ocassional throwing of objects=)  Even objects can be thrown gracefully.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

beaumontdave

Helen321 said:

lol Danker, you make my day

lol Danker, you make my day all the time.  I would have liked to be saying something similar at 84, sadly I'm 46.  Thankfully, I have a fabulous personality if I do say so myself. As the saying goes . . .  If like throws you a lemon, cut that bad boy open and throw it at someone because life didn't also throw you sugar and water dummy.  Can't change what cards I've been dealt but I can accept them and move on with what I do have and I have a heck of a lot to offer . . .and I don't even have to stop for long bathroom breaks on road trips!  lol

Funny, Helen! I just wish I

Funny, Helen! I just wish I had time for a road trip, I keep hearing the clock tick, and there's all these things I want to see. Tick,tick,tick..................Dave

Kazenmax

Helen321 said:

Thanks Sue. The problem is

Thanks Sue. The problem is that it's not just a sexual issue. My reality is that that part of my life has come to an end for the most part. According yo the doctor, the problem is that over time, if not taken care of, the tissue breaks down and causes other problems which is actually a natural part of menopause. Add radiation and you get a lovely mix of woes Including the possubility of fistulas. So its worth discussing with a GYN oncologist. The doctor who helps correct it just happens to be called a sex therapist. She also helps with the mental that goes with the loss of function. My doctor and I had a discussion that all patients should be sent to a GYN oncologist as well as the Colo before surgery and especially when radiation is involved, not only during but after and yet we're not. My reply, well make it happen captain. Time for change starts now. It's illogical not to great all parts of the body affected by cancer. Even if treatment just means basic discussion of possibilities, options and consequences. 

Today was my second radiation

Today was my second radiation treatment and afterwards I had a quick visit with the Doctor. In passing he quickly talked about side effects and quickly mentioned that I may have some "toxicity" in the area of my genitalia. ...and he walked out before I had a chance to ask just what the heck that means....

So I've already gone through menopause... and I don't treat myself for it and I occasionally enjoy sex with my husband. So what do I have to look forward to? What can I do to avoid this toxicity? 

Man....I was just getting to the point where I can handle the treatment and now this?

Ugh

danker

beaumontdave said:

Funny, Helen! I just wish I

Funny, Helen! I just wish I had time for a road trip, I keep hearing the clock tick, and there's all these things I want to see. Tick,tick,tick..................Dave

Road trip

When you find the time--go on the road trip of your desires.  I drive a 5 liter Mustang because my oncologist said;"Be good to yourself."

Do it now! Be good to yourself!!!

sail69

Viagra

Viagra, the little blue pills work for me. 5 years out and been thru part of lower colon removal after oral chemo and radiation a resection and 9 months of main line chemo every 2 weeks, 2 bouts with blood clots in my lungs so that now I am on daily blood thinners. After all that my erections were not very rigid until i tried Viagra and WOW. It is very pricey tho in the states, so I get mine at 1/10th the cost thru Canada. It is a generic but works just as good.

nateswife

ron50 said:

Hi Sue

   As you know I have a raft of problems stemming from chemo. The trouble is that there are few around except Foxy (Virginia from New Zealand) who were on levamisole mostly because it was banned for human use around 200-2001. Virginia ,like me, suffers from auto-immune problems that they cannot put a name to. I have suffered severe peripheral neuropathy from a short time after chemo therapy. I have been diagnosed with auto immune nephrotic syndrome causing protein loss up to 7 grams a day. On cyclosporine I maintain my loss at around 1 gram a day. I have just seen an endo cronologist who believes my endocrine problems are also auto immune . My testosterone levels of a morning are 5.2 , the norm baseline being from 8-18. My nephrologist has tested me for auto-immune hepatitis and has found I vary from mild to moderate. I have medication induced type two diabetes (prednisone ,75 mg a day for nearly two years) and I have moderate premature ventricular and atrial ectopic heartbeats (10,299 a day at last count). It has cost me over a hundred thousand dollars in specialists since cancer and not one has been able to give me a cause or suggest a treatment for any of them except my nephrologist who freely admits that he does not know what caused my kidney disease but has been lucky to find a treatment that has kept me alive, He freely acknowledges that most of my auto immune problems are the result of the chemo I had and he also knows that the treatment he is using is highly likely to cause more cancer including skin and myeloma as well as other blood cancers.. My wife did not leave only for the lack of initimacy she just got tired of dealing with non stop illness. Ron .

Ron, it is truly impressive

Ron, it is truly impressive that with the complications and effects of cancer & treatment, that you are still working. Wow! 

nateswife

Helen321 said:

I've come across the same

I've come across the same issue.  Suddenly I find many conversations "stupid".  When I hear people complaining about standing on a supermarket line I want to say "oh shut up you have no idea".  Or when people my age (46) are talking about small things that I used to relate to while we're out at a bar I just think, wow who cares, there are bigger things in life.  It's hard to relate to people sometimes now.  I have to remind myself that they don't "know".  They're still in the "happy, I'm going to live forever" part of life that we don't get to be in anymore where small stuff still matters.

Really glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has become more withdrawn or less social since diagnosis and treatment. It's partly hard to concentrate when I'm listening to people because I always have something serious on my mind. There is also this feeling of being very different from people who don't have a life threatening illness. This quote expresses the feeling pretty well. A young woman named Rebecca Babcock said this in a film called "I am a Visitor in Your World." She had colon cancer and unfortunately has passed away.

"I've disassociated myself with you. You, as in the rest of our normal world. I don't belong there anymore. I'm not normal. I'm in another class now. And not the cool kids or the theater kids or the jocks class. I'm now a member of a society of people, I believe, who can't help but acknowledge that what we once were is no longer. And what we are now is in a completely bizarro, Twilight Zone reality that most can never even fathom."