Like many women, when Anna Sullivan was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 37-years-old, her primary concern was surviving the treatment that would hopefully kill the disease and stop her cancer from spreading.
But her second thought, which she was too ashamed to voice at the time, was: ‘What will happen to my body?’
‘After I was diagnosed back in 2017 my doctor told me that my treatment plan would catapult me into menopause,’ she explained.
‘The hardest thing about it was that I was unprepared. It was something that I thought was at least still a few years away.
‘None of my friends had gone through it and my mum passed away the year before so I had no one.
‘I was completely alone.’
Thankfully, after a mastectomy and starting hormone therapy—which works by reducing the amount of oestrogen in the body and inhibits its cancer-growing effect—Ms Sullivan was given the all clear.
The treatment ultimately saved her life—but, after months of gruelling side-effects, she can’t help but think there must be a better option for women who have survived cancer.
Anna was thrilled when she got the all clear after she found a small lump on her breast that turned out to be breast cancer. But she didn’t know the treatment would completely derail her sex life
‘I was still under the care of my oncologist for my hormone therapy and it took me a while to figure out what was happening to my body and muster up the courage to talk about the symptoms,’ she explained.
‘At no point did a doctor mention the vaginal symptoms I might experience as a result of medically induced menopause.
‘That’s something I figured out on my own—when I tried to have sex with my husband.’
The mental health councilor was suffering from a condition known as genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).
GSM is commonly experienced by breast cancer survivors on hormone therapy, causing vaginal dryness, pain during sex and can massively impact a patient’s quality of life.
‘It hurts all the time,’ she recalls telling her oncologist. ‘Especially during sex.’
‘But my pain wasn’t taken seriously. I was just told “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”.
‘I just had to get on with it.’
According to the NHS, while some of the hormonal changes that happen during menopause may change the way a woman experiences sex, it does not guarantee a drop in sex drive
The menopausal transition usually lasts about 7 years, during which time women can experience a long roster of symptoms that go beyond just hot flashes and night sweats
Previous research revealed that less than a quarter of postmenopausal UK women are sexually active and a mere 3 per cent are happy with their sex life – but Anna said her GP gave her the confidence to explore all her options
Whilst dyspareunia is not uncommon during the menopause, as vaginal dryness can make penetrative sex more painful, there are a number of oestrogen-based products that can be used to help promote lubrication.
But, given her cancer diagnosis and a lack of extensive research on the subject, Ms Reiser did not feel comfortable using an oestrogen based cream, for fears of increasing the risk of her cancer returning.
‘Ultimately, my doctor’s response just created more shame around symptoms I already felt uncomfortable discussing, playing into the culture of violence surrounding the menopause.
‘When you are vulnerable and try to open up about what you’re going through and then you’re immediately shut down, you internalise that shame and it becomes something you don’t talk about,’ she added.
Thankfully, Ms Sullivan eventually felt comfortable speaking about her symptoms with her GP who was able to recommend an alternative: PRP vaginal rejuvenation therapy.
Recalling the conversation she said: ‘She was the one who really educated me on the menopause and how it would affect everything from my energy levels to my mood, bone health, sleep and sex drive.’
After trying what felt like every treatment available to her to alleviate her pain and get her sex life back on track, including laser treatment, Ms Sullivan booked in for PRP therapy.
The treatment, which stands for platelet-rich plasma injections, works by using a woman’s own blood component to promote healing and tissue regeneration in the vagina.
A clinician will take a patient’s blood before processing it in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets—which are small cell fragments in the blood that form blood clots and promote healing.
The concentrated plasma is then injected into specific areas of the vagina to simulate cell regeneration and support tissue growth.
The treatment is said to provide a range of benefits from enhanced sexual function, through increasing sensitivity and improve lubrication, to pain relief and vaginal rejuvination.
Whilst Ms Sullivan did not experience lasting pain relief after the treatment when it came to sex, she said it helped improve sensation and lubrication and opened the door for more open and honest conversation about cancer, sex and the menopause.
She now uses a carefully-curated combination of treatments including pelvic floor therapy and low-dose oestrogen creams, after reading compelling new research, to treat her symptoms, allowing her to live an almost normal life.
She said: ‘I used to be really scared of using oestrogen creams, even though the pain was unbearable and ruining my sex life, because it was thought for a long time that oestrogen could increase the chance of breast cancer returning.
‘I know now that this simply is not true. But the culture of fear around using hormone therapy started so long ago it’s going to take a long time for that fear to subside.’
She now wants to help reduce the stigma and shame surrounding the menopause, especially for women who have been left with no other choice but to face it early because of cancer.
Her plea comes as millions of women could soon benefit from a new all-natural intimate cream being hailed as a female version of Viagra.
Makers of the plant-based formula—called Myregyna—insist it can restore vulval health and ‘bring back the joy of sex’ for women battling the menopause, all without the use of hormones.
Inventor Dr Iona Weir claims trials have shown the cream improves sexual response and function in women dealing with the effects of menopause.
It’s applied to the intimate area nightly and taken alongside a daily supplement, with results expected in as little as a month.
The cream is designed to reverse the symptoms of GSM including vaginal dryness, incontinence, discomfort and pain during sex—all of which can severely impact quality of life.
Currently around 90 per cent of women with cancer encounter seuxl health problems which can lead to long-term distress affecting personal and social well-being.
Around half of post-menopausal women will experience vaginal dryness—most of whom don’t seek treatment for their symptoms which typically include vaginal dryness, irritation and pain during intercourse.
