Sex: Taboos, Assumptions, and Evidence

The population living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis con-tinuously increases as a result of earlier detection and improvement in therapies,withanestimated14.5millionpeople livingwithahistoryof cancer in the United States in 2014.1 As a result of this increasing survivorshippopulation,health issues related to thepersistent and late effects of cancer treatment are being highlighted as important, and their management is essential for long-term improvement in health. Changes in sexual health are one of the most common physical con-cerns,with 46%of post-treatment cancer survivorswho responded to the 2006 LIVESTRONG survey reporting changes in sexual function-ing; 71 % of them did not receive post-treatment care for their sexual concern.2 Although the impact of cancer and its treatment on sexual healthhas been identifiedby survivors as important, it still seems tobe a taboo subject and difficult for patients to bring forward to their health care team, in part because of their fear of not having thei