In honor of Mother’s Day, WomanLab is sharing these things every woman and her mother need to know about sex. WomanLab has special information and tools to help women with cancer preserve and recover their sexual function.

Click on the links below for more information on each topic and help WomanLab grow by sharing this PDF with a woman you love.

Every woman and her mother should know…

1. If you are having a problem with sexual function, it’s probably not just in your head, especially if you have been treated for cancer.
2. It is legitimate to ask your doctor about a sexual function concern or problem, especially if you are about to undergo treatment with cancer.
3. The bulbocavernosus muscle is a muscle around the opening of the vagina that is key to comfortable sex for all women, including women with cancer.
4. When it comes to keeping your vulva and vagina clean, less is more. The vagina, like your eyeballs, has a good system for cleaning itself. Don’t put soap in your eyeballs or on your eyelids and don’t put it on your vulva or in your vagina.
5. Strategies for sexual self-care, including moisturizers and lubricants.
6. Older women and older women with cancer have sex too.
7. Women of all ages value their sexuality, including women with cancer and women who don’t have a partner.
8. Sex after menopause should be good, including for women with cancer.
9. Vaginal dilators can help with painful intercourse due to a tight bulbocavernosus muscle and so can a pelvic physical therapist.
10. There are health benefits to pleasurable touch, especially for people with cancer.