Watch my presentation below and click here to enjoy all the free resources and recordings from the conference.
For my talk, I reviewed the vulvar and vaginal changes that occur with treatment for breast and other cancers. I discuss eliminating irritants, moisturization, lubricants, dilators and lidocaine. I also discuss why jade eggs and v-steaming are NOT a good idea, and review more controversial treatments like lasers and surgery.
You can watch on Youtube, or click on your favorite platform below to listen to the audio podcast:
Podcast App
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I had the great pleasure to get together with Nalie Agustin and Stephanie Seban during the Miami Breast Conference, and make some time to record an episode for their Thriver Talks Podcast to talk about sexual health for cancer patients. You are not alone, everything that you are struggling with is normal, and there are ways to make it better! I’m inspired by the strength of the patient community, and grateful to learn from your personal experiences so I can continue working on research and treatments. I hope you enjoy the conversation and find it useful.
From Thriver Talks:
The long awaited “SEX-pisode”. In episode 20 of Thriver Talks we break down needless barriers and discuss intimacy during and after treatment. We believe that the more questions we ask, the more access we have to answers; that we don’t need to suffer alone; and that this community was created specifically for tough questions and vulnerable topics.
Our guest, Dr. Rojas is not your typical oncological breast surgeon, founding the MUSIC Sex After Cancer program when she discovered how many of her patients were suffering from side affects influencing intimacy with their partner.
In this episode, you will learn:
– Our experiences with intimacy after diagnosis and treatment
– Dr. Rojas’s perspective on this enormous need in the thriver community and what she’s doing about it
– Resources and tactical tips to address the three most common intimacy concerns noted by patients
RESOURCES:
Single Ingredient Coconut Oil
Hyalo Gyn Gel (Coupon Code: ProHydrate)
Bonafide Revaree Hyaluronic Acid Insert
Good Clean Love
Uberlube
Quim Happy Clam
Quim Night Moves
Foria Wellness Awaken Arousal Oil
Dip Sea Stories
Subscribe, leave us a rating, and review! Know a Thriver or someone who could benefit from this episode? Share this episode with them so they can listen, too! Visit us at www.thethriversguide.com
Follow Dr Rojas at https://www.instagram.com/kristinrojasmd/
and her MUSIC Sex After Cancer Program: https://www.instagram.com/music_sexaftercancer/
Sexy audio stories & intimate guides: https://www.instagram.com/Dipseastories
At the Miami Breast Cancer Conference on March 5, I presented our center’s experience utilizing opioid-sparing pain management protocols to drastically reduce the amount of opioid medications needed after surgery.
According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, most misused opioids are diverted from unused prescriptions from a friend or relative (51%) or from their own prescription (38%). The likelihood of needing opioids for the rest of your life is directly related to the number of days that opioids are required after surgery. Therefore, by implementing strategies using non-opioid medications to treat pain after surgery, we can minimize the need for opioids after surgery… and that is exactly what our team did.
In 2017, I designed and implemented a 10-step protocol for patients undergoing lumpectomy and mastectomy without reconstruction that helped expedite patient recovery, with the added benefit of minimizing anxiety and unnecessary pain around the time of surgery. Since that time, we have shown that using “Enhanced Recovery After Surgery” ERAS protocols not only IMPROVES pain control around the time of surgery, but ELIMINATES the need for opioid medications after surgery. Furthermore, newer data suggests that using opioids around the time of surgery may increase the risk of breast cancer recurring, so it is even more important that we eliminate the need for these medications.
With the implementation of our protocols, we have been able to completely eliminate the need for opioids after breast surgery, while demonstrating improved postoperative pain control. Is your surgeon using opioid-minimizing strategies to make sure you recover quickly from surgery?