So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer

It’s the elephant in the room that no-one talks about when you have cancer - the fact that your sex life can also take a nose dive. But there is support out there, and this episode I’m speaking to Instagram’s @cancersextherapist - aka Zoe Yessian - a registered Mental Health nurse and psychosexual and relationship therapist, who was diagnosed with breast cancer herself two years ago aged just 35. We discuss how cancer can affect our libido and desire and what we can do about it. 

 

Show Notes

 

Zoe

Zoe’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecancersextherapist/

Zoe’s website  - https://www.thesextherapyspace.co.uk/

If you are in London or able to get there, Zoe does bimonthly workshops at Future Dreams House  - her next two are:
October 14th - Dating beyond diagnosis - https://momence.com/s/141372815

October 28th - Navigating Sex and relationships after cancer - https://momence.com/s/141372820

Her next Breast Cancer Now workshop on intimacy and sex is at the Younger Women together day on 17th October - https://signup.breastcancernow.org/event/1ca854b5-a878-40ed-8640-de0c70d28994/2a3f4f45-f248-437a-a2d6-faa29474a78d?count=3

 

More information about sex and cancer

Future Dreams - https://futuredreams.org.uk/category/sex-intimacy-hub/

Shine cancer support - https://shinecancersupport.org/resource/sex-blog-1/

Macmillan - https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/sex-and-cancer

Breast Cancer Now - https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-and-sexual-intimac

Cancer Research - https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping/physically/sex/effects

Find a therapist - College of Sex and Relationship Therapists - https://www.cosrt.org.uk/

 

Sex toys &  tools -

O-Nut / dilators -https://www.stressnomore.co.uk/collections/the-pelvic-people 

Liz’s favourite lube - https://www.yesyesyes.org/collections/yes-lubricants

I hope this episode bring you as much joy as it did to me to record it - self-proclaimed cancer kicker, poetry prattler, sales director, photo-grapher, animal lover and nature bather (and possibly the world’s wonkiest qualified personal trainer) Dearbhaile O’Hale aka Derv turned to writing when she was diagnosed with breast cancer to help her process the experience. She was generous enough to share some of her poems with us in this special episode, and talk about her own story from diagnosis to now. I hope her words give you some comfort, or perhaps she will inspire you to write yourself. 

 

Show Notes

 

Derv’s book of poems Things Went Tits Up is a joy to read - you can buy a copy here - https://www.thingswenttitsup.ie/

How do you know what to trust online and even - dare I say it - in podcasts, when it comes to breast cancer? There is so much information out there nowadays including people claiming to have “cures” and alternatives to traditional treatments. That’s why I needed to get Consultant Oncologist and Chief Medical Officer for Macmillan, Richard Simcock, onto this episode to help us sift through fact and fiction.  

 

Show Notes

 

Website - https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/worried-about-cancer/cancer-myths-and-misinformation

 

Cancer Research also has a guide to spotting cancer misinformation - https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2024/02/16/sorting-fact-from-fiction-a-guide-to-spotting-health-misinformation/

CEO and Founder of Menopause and Cancer, Dani Binnington, talks to me about her own experience of the menopause with breast cancer, what menopause can look like when you are a BC patient and ways to cope. 

 

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Menopause and Cancer is a global support network to help every woman living with cancer manage their menopause symptoms.

 

For free, practical and accessible support you can visit

www.menopauseandcancer.org

@menopause_and_cancer

 

For a copy of Navigating Menopause After Cancer go here: https://amzn.eu/d/033PUCt6

 

The FB support group Dani mentioned is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/menopauseandcancerchathub/

 

You can also listen to Dani’s podcast here: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-menopause-and-cancer-podcast/id1631842514

Health psychology expert Dr Lauren Heathcote talks to Liz about the impact of breast cancer in our mental health and how to manage the dreaded scanxiety.

 

Find out more about Lauren and her team’s research here - https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/lauren-heathcote 

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/entrust

 

Their paper on Scanxiety and ‘bracing for bad news' - is here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-52747-001. 

 

You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information. 

 

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter here to find out what I’ve been up to and what I’m recommending each month. 

 

Here are links to buy my third book ‘The Cancer Roadmap’, or the updated edition of my first book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. Plus, if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops.

Finally, if you loved the show and want to help other women like you find it, press the thumbs up on Youtube, leave a 5-star review or comment wherever you get your podcasts, or buy me a coffee to help keep the show going. Huge thanks to everyone who’s donated so far, it means a lot.