Where to get help with sexual problems

It cannot tell you which services are available near you, or their costs. Availability varies between cities and hospitals. Your oncology team is best placed to recommend trusted local specialists.

It also cannot diagnose the cause of your sexual problem. Several causes often combine, and proper assessment is needed before treatment.

Beware of unqualified clinics

Advertisements for quick sexual remedies and unlicensed clinics can be costly and unsafe. Seek qualified professionals.

Medicines from the internet

Unregulated products may contain hidden medicines that interact with cancer treatment.

Hormone treatments need oncology approval

Some hormone treatments are unsafe after certain cancers. Always check with your oncologist.

Online consultations

Some qualified counsellors and specialists offer video appointments, which can help with privacy and travel.

Confidentiality

Your conversations with health professionals are confidential. You decide what your family is told.

Single people deserve help too

Sexual health matters whether or not you have a partner.

Older adults

Sexual concerns are valid at any age. Ask without hesitation.

Language and comfort

Ask for a professional who speaks your language, or bring written questions.

Persistence pays off

If one approach does not work, another often does. Keep asking.

What happens at a first appointment

A specialist will usually ask about your cancer and treatment, when the problem started, what makes it better or worse, your medicines, your periods or erections, your mood and your relationship. They may examine you if it is relevant, with your consent and with a chaperone if you wish. Some tests, such as hormone levels, may be arranged. It is normal to feel nervous, and you can bring your partner or ask to be seen alone.

How treatment for sexual problems usually works

Help is often a combination rather than a single medicine. For example, a woman with painful sex may be offered moisturisers and lubricants, pelvic floor physiotherapy and counselling together, while a man with erection difficulties may be offered tablets where safe, advice on tiredness and mood, and couples support. Improvement tends to be gradual over weeks and months, and follow-up visits help adjust the plan.

Counselling and sex therapy explained

Counselling and sex therapy are talking treatments. They do not involve any physical contact with the therapist. Sessions focus on understanding what has changed, reducing anxiety and pressure, improving communication, and practical exercises that couples do privately at home. Many people find that this approach helps as much as medical treatment, especially when desire, confidence or relationship strain are part of the problem.

If cost or distance is a barrier

Ask your oncology team or hospital social worker whether counselling is available free or at lower cost through the hospital, government schemes or charitable organisations. Online sessions with qualified professionals can reduce travel. Starting with your own oncology nurse, who you already see, costs nothing extra and is often enough to get useful advice.

Your partner may need support too

Partners can experience their own anxiety, loss of desire or grief. Encouraging them to come to appointments, or to seek their own counselling, often helps the couple as a whole.

What to do next

Write down what is happening, ask your oncologist or nurse for a private conversation, describe the problem simply, ask for referral to a gynaecologist, urologist, psycho-oncologist or counsellor as needed, avoid unqualified clinics and online products, and return if the first step does not help.