Side effects of cancer drugs
Doctors use many different types of drugs to treat cancer. Some drugs can cause changes to your sex life. This might be due to the physical or emotional side effects of the cancer drugs on your body. This could include things like:
feeling very tired (fatigued)
loss of desire (libido) as you feel too unwell
body changes making you feel less desirable such as hair loss and weight changes
changes to your vagina such as vaginal dryness
difficulty getting or keeping an
level changes
Worries about the side effects of a cancer drug on your sex life can impact your . For some people it can be hard to talk about their sex life. These issues might feel very private. If you’re in a relationship it might help to talk to your partner about any changes.
You can also talk to your doctor or nurse about any worries.
Go to information about sex and cancer
Some cancer drugs can lower your sex drive for a while due to tiredness or other side effects. Your sex drive will usually return to normal sometime after the treatment ends.
Some chemotherapy drugs can lower the amount of hormones your make. This may cause an for some people. Or it can lower the amount of made by the .
Find out more about sex and chemotherapy
Hormone therapies can also cause an early menopause. You might get menopausal symptoms even if you have already had your menopause.
Some people with have treatment with hormone therapy to lower testosterone levels. Hormone therapy can reduce your sex drive. You might not be able to get or keep an erection. You may also get breast swelling and tenderness, this might make you feel less desirable.
Find out more about the hormone therapy side effects
Some targeted cancer drugs can affect your sex life. This can include:
a loss of interest in sex
difficulty getting or keeping an erection
a dull pain in the testes
Go to information about coping with a low sex drive
Some cancer drugs might stop you from being able to have a child in the future. This is called infertility. It can be temporary or permanent. Cancer drugs can affect your fertility by:
changing or stopping your periods
damaging your ovaries
reducing the number of eggs your ovaries produce
causing hormone changes such as an early menopause
reducing the number of sperm you make
affecting the ability of the sperm to fertilise an egg
affecting the production of the hormone testosterone
Not being able to have a child can be particularly difficult to cope with. Especially if you were planning on having them.
For at least the first two years after you have finished treatment, doctors can't say for sure whether you will be infertile or not. This is because the sex organs might not work for a while.
The male sex organs include the:
penis
testes
Go to information about the male sexual and reproductive organs
Some of the female sex organs include the:
womb
ovaries
Go to information about the female sexual and reproductive organs
Many other factors might also play a role in fertility after cancer treatment. These are:
your type and of cancer
whether you had or surgery to your sex organs
your age
factors
whether you have an underactive after cancer treatment
Find out more about the cancer drugs you are having
Chemotherapy is a type of anti cancer drug treatment. It works by killing cancer cells. It is a systemic treatment which means it works throughout your body.
Some chemotherapy drugs can cause changes to fertility, including infertility. How much will depend on:
the type of drug. For example some drugs like cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide are more likely to cause infertility
the total amount of the drug you have had over time (cumulative dose)
Read about the effects of chemotherapy treatment and fertility
Hormone therapy blocks or lowers the amount of hormones in the body to stop or slow down the growth of cancer. It stops hormones being made or prevents them from making cancer cells grow and divide. This can affect fertility.
Some hormone therapies for cancer interfere with the:
production of sperm
There is not enough research yet to know how the following treatments can cause changes to fertility with:
There are ways to try to preserve fertility. However, these methods are not always successful or suitable for everyone. These can include:
storing sperm (sperm banking)
freezing embryos
freezing eggs
freezing ovarian tissue
ovarian suppression
Talk to your doctor or nurse about any concerns you may have about your fertility.
Last reviewed: 10 Sept 2026
Next review due: 10 Sept 2029
Cancer and its treatments can affect sex and sexuality. Get information and support for people with cancer, partners and single people.
Cancer drugs have side effects and these can vary from person to person. But there are things that you can do to help you cope.
Chemotherapy is a standard treatment for some types of cancer. It uses anti cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells.
Hormone therapy blocks or lowers the amount of hormones in the body to stop or slow down the growth of cancer.
Targeted cancer drugs work by ‘targeting’ the differences that help a cancer cell to survive and grow. They are one of the main treatments for some cancers.
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