Sex and nasopharyngeal cancer

Nasopharyngeal cancer and its treatment can cause changes to your appearance and how you feel about yourself. This might affect your sex life.

There are usually several reasons for this, including physical and emotional issues. But there is support available to help you cope. 

Tiredness

One symptom that can affect your sex life is tiredness or fatigue.

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments both cause fatigue. It’s not uncommon for this fatigue to last for months after treatment.

You might also feel tired because your thyroid hormone levels are low. This can also cause a low mood and decreased interest in sex. Your doctor will check how your thyroid gland is working at your follow up appointments. They will also check if treatment has affected your pituitary gland, which is at the base of your brain. The pituitary gland releases hormones, such as thyroid stimulating hormone.

Other side effects of treatment such as a dry or sore mouth, or having sticky thick saliva, can also mean that you lose interest in kissing or having sex.

Changes to the way you look

Treatments for nasopharyngeal cancer might change the way you look. It can affect how you feel about yourself. And how you think others might see you. Any changes might make you feel nervous about intimacy. Or you might feel less confident about sex.

After treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer, you might have skin soreness if you had radiotherapy. Or you might have scarring after some types of surgery for nasopharyngeal cancer. It can sometimes take time for the scars to heal. Some people might also have swelling called lymphoedema around the face and neck.

You might need to wait for any scars or soreness to heal before you feel comfortable to kiss. You can still be intimate with your partner through cuddling or touching.

If the cancer or surgery has affected your eyesight, you may need to rely on touch during intimate relationships.

If you have a feeding tube into your stomach during treatment this can also cause issues with body image. Once you are eating and drinking normally again, your doctor will remove the tube.

Talking about intimacy and sex

Cancer can also cause many different emotions. For example, fear and anger. These feelings can make intimacy more difficult.

If your feelings about having sex and intimacy change during or after your cancer treatment, it doesn’t mean that this will last forever. As you recover from treatment, you may find that your sex life returns to how it was before. But for some people, it can take time to rediscover their interest in sex.

Talking to your partner about your worries can help if you are able to. Talking openly with them can help them to understand how you feel. It can also help you to deal with any fears that they might reject you.

Most of the time partners want to try to understand what you're going through and help if they can. You can both gradually get used to your new situation and things often feel less awkward.

Who else can help?

If you find it difficult to talk to your partner you could try:

• talking to your doctor or specialist nurse

• ask someone from your healthcare team or your GP to refer you to a counsellor

Cancer Research UK nurses

More information

We have more information about sex, sexuality and cancer in our general cancer section.