Sex During and After Chemotherapy: Commonly Asked Questions

Sex during and after chemotherapy is possible, but you’ll want to take some extra precautions to minimize your risk of infection and keep your partner safe.

Going through chemotherapy is stressful and can take a toll on your mental and physical well-being. You may want to maintain as much of your personal life as you can during the treatment, which may include having sex.

Sex during and after chemotherapy is generally safe, though you’ll need to take some extra precautions to protect yourself and your partner.

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Can I have sex during chemotherapy?

Sex during chemotherapy is possible for many people, but it’s important that you speak with the healthcare professionals on your treatment team. They can let you know, based on your unique situation, when you can have sex, if it will be safe, and other considerations.

Some considerations pertaining to sex during chemotherapy include:

• Increased risk of infection: Chemo can weaken your immune system, increasing your risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI), experiencing a flare from a previous infection like herpes, or developing a yeast infection or other infection. To minimize risk, use condoms, pee after intercourse, wash all sex toys, and avoid touching a vagina with anything that comes in contact with an anus.
• You may not feel like it: Chemotherapy can affect several aspects of your overall well-being. You may feel sore, tired, or too sick to consider having sex. You may also just have a general lack of desire. But for the most part, these changes should only be temporary.
• Cancer location can make a difference: If your cancer is in the genitals, abdomen, or other areas near the pelvis, it can make it difficult to have sex. You should speak with a doctor if you have any concerns about sex based on where your cancer is located.
• Vaginal dryness: Chemotherapy can lead to vaginal dryness. You could try using a water-based lubricant to help with this.
• Talk with your partner: Chemotherapy can cause a host of emotions, including anxiety and stress. Adding sex into the mix can be challenging. It’s important that you speak with your partner about sex, how you’re feeling, and other ways to be intimate during your treatments.
• Menopause may start: If you were assigned female at birth and you haven’t started menopause yet, certain types of chemotherapy can cause symptoms of early menopause. You may experience symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, vaginal tightness, and irregular or no menstrual periods. You may also have vaginal wall thinning, which can lead to pain and light spotting after sex.

If sex isn’t an option or not a good option for you, you can stay intimate with your partner in different ways. These can include:

• touching each other daily, through hugging, kissing, massages, or exploring each other’s bodies to figure out what feels good and what doesn’t
• holding hands when walking and together
• pretending you’re a new couple and not ready to have sex just yet
• exploring new interests that you can do together that don’t involve sex
• talking about how chemotherapy is making you feel, insecurities, anxiety, and anything else that you need to

How long after chemo can you have sex?

There’s no consensus on when you can safely resume sex after a chemotherapy treatment.

Some suggest waiting 3 days before having sex due to the presence of medications in the blood and bodily fluids. Others suggest that you can safely have sex shortly after treatment but that you should use condoms for at least 1 week.

From a medical perspective, there’s actually no reason to stop having sex during treatment. But it may be possible to expose your partner to the chemo medications, so you’ll want to use condoms or other barriers to help prevent this.

If you have concerns, you should speak with a doctor or other member of your treatment team. They can address specific concerns based on your unique situation.

How long after chemo can you get pregnant?

Chemotherapy can affect fertility, so if you’re planning to get pregnant after treatment, you should discuss this with your doctors prior to starting chemo.

However, despite its potential negative effects on your fertility, it’s still possible to become pregnant during chemotherapy and after. But doctors generally advise people to wait at least 6–12 months before trying to conceive.

During treatments, you should take measures to help ensure you do not get pregnant, such as barrier methods.

Can chemo affect my partner?

Some evidence suggests that you can pass along certain medications used for cancer treatment through your bodily fluids, including saliva, vaginal fluids, or semen.

There isn’t enough research to determine if your partner absorbing some of the medications will cause any issues. But researchers do recommend that you use barrier methods to help minimize your partner’s risk of exposure to medications during your chemotherapy treatments.

If your partner is pregnant, you should either avoid penetrative sex altogether or use a barrier method. It’s possible that the transmission of medications to the developing fetus could cause harm. You should consider talking with a member of your cancer treatment team about sex if your partner is pregnant.

The takeaway

Sex during and after chemotherapy is possible, but you can expect some differences and will need to take extra precautions to ensure safety and enjoyment.

It’s a good idea to speak with a doctor or other member of your treatment team to make sure it’s safe to have sex and discuss any other concerns you may have.

In general, you’ll want to use barrier methods such as condoms, take extra precautions to prevent infections, and anticipate that you may not always feel up to having sex. Remember, there are other ways to stay intimate with your partner if sex isn’t a possibility during your treatment.