Breast Cancer and the Pelvic Floor: The Connection You Might Not Expect

Hello friends!  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  When dealing with or recovering from breast cancer, most people focus on what’s happening in the chest — surgery, scars, radiation effects, or limited shoulder movement. What many don’t realize is that breast cancer treatment can also impact another important area of the body: the pelvic floor. More than 50% of women will experience changes in the functioning of the pelvic floor (which includes peeing, pooping, and sex) after treatment for breast cancer. (Crean-Tate, 2020)

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles at the base of your pelvis that support your bladder, uterus, and bowel. These muscles are involved in sexual function, core stability, and keeping pee or poop in at the right times.  Your pelvic floor muscles that can be affected by the physical and hormonal changes that come with breast cancer treatment.

How Breast Cancer Treatment Affects the Pelvic Floor

Many breast cancer treatments — including chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone-blocking medications — lower estrogen levels. These hormonal shifts can lead to:

• Vaginal dryness and discomfort

• Pain with intimacy

• Bladder urgency, frequency, or leakage

• Pelvic or lower abdominal pain

  
  

Surgical scars, radiation tightness, or postural changes can also affect how your core, diaphragm, and pelvic floor work together. When one part of the system tightens or weakens, the others often compensate which can create pelvic muscle tension or weakness.

Why Pelvic Floor Therapy Helps

Pelvic floor physical or occupational therapy can be an important part of recovery after breast cancer treatment. A pelvic health therapist can help you:

• Learn gentle stretching and relaxation techniques to reduce pelvic floor muscle tension

• Address vaginal dryness and pain with education on lubricants, moisturizers, and dilator or pelvic wand use

• Improve posture and breathing patterns to support core and pelvic alignment

• Rebuild strength safely after treatment or surgery

• Regain comfort and confidence with intimacy

Pelvic floor therapy is individualized and should be tailored to your comfort level and current needs. This helps you to reconnect with your body in a way that feels safe and empowering while helping you get back to the things you love.

Whole-Body Healing Matters

Healing from breast cancer isn’t just about surviving — it’s about recovering your quality of life. Your pelvic health is part of that process. Whether you’re currently in treatment, recently finished, or years into survivorship, you don’t have to live with pelvic pain, leakage, or discomfort.

Pelvic floor therapy can help you move, breathe, and live more comfortably — so you can focus on what matters most: feeling like yourself again.

Watch this great video from Jeanice on how to do a self-breast exam. You can also visit the article from breastcancer.org here.

To learn more about your pelvic floor muscles, check out these great resources:

• Find a pelvic floor therapist near you at www.mypfm.com/find-a-pt

• Check out our YouTube channel

• Learn more about your pelvic floor on our Instagram

• Support your pelvic floor muscles with the myPelvic Bra

• Visit our Amazon store for our favorite pelvic health products

• Sign up for our email newsletter

For providers, check out myPFM Academy to learn more so you can better help your clients. With two membership options, you have access to courses, a growing library of patient handouts, hundreds of custom sharable images and infographics, and multilingual resources.

Written by Emily Reul, PT, DPT

References

1. Crean-Tate KK, et al. Management of genitourinary syndrome of menopause in female cancer patients: a focus on vaginal hormonal therapy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Feb;222(2):103-113. Doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.08.043. Epub 2019 Aug 29.