Rebuilding a sex life after prostate cancer can be challenging but maintaining a good connection and being open about your feelings is one way to show your support to the man in your life.
Talking is fundamental to maintain closeness, including opening up about how the cancer made you feel and the impact it had on you as part of a couple. Teamwork in a relationship especially if it comes to such intimate and delicate issues, is important.
Try to avoid assumptions: start a conversation about how you can change the way you get close to each other, sharing ideas on how to make it work better and not second-guessing each other’s expectations can lead to a deeper and helpful connection.
The issue goes beyond sex, it is about intimacy, and starting from small things such as being more affectionate or having little intimate moments could be very beneficial.
Can you be sexually active after prostate cancer?
There are different factors that could damage the sex-life in a couple after prostate cancer, from shame and frustration to partners feeling helpless and unmotivated to keep trying.
Sex after this type of cancer can look different but this should not be seen as a limit. It could take the relationship to another level and new ways of discovering pleasure can be tried.
Sexual wellbeing is not often spoken about although it could make a difference not just on an emotional and mental level, but to wellbeing overall.
Acknowledging problems and talking about them is a good place to start to overcome them. It lets you and your partner see what goals each of you have.
On the Movember website there are a lot of useful tips on how to be a supportive partner in these situations.
