How Cancer Impacts Your Libido: The Surprising Truth

Introduction to the Libido Lounge

Dr. Diane: Welcome to the Libido Lounge, where we focus on all things love, lust, and libido. We believe that fabulous sex is as important to health as exercise and good food. Hi everybody, welcome back to another episode on the Lounge. I’m your host, libido expert Dr. Diane Mueller, and I am so excited about this conversation today. I have with me a dear friend, Dr. Ivon Carney, and we are talking today about anxiety, libido, breast cancer, and more. One of the things Dr. Ivon and I were talking about offline is how much anxiety is such a key thing that can get in the way of a healthy sex drive. What causes anxiety? So many things, but a huge thing for women is the dreaded mammograms, the fear of breast cancer, the pain, and all the things that come with this. I’m so excited to have this amazing woman here with me today, a gynecologist turned integrative practitioner. Welcome, welcome, welcome, my friend.

Dr. Ivon: I’m happy to be here with you today. Thank you, Dr. Diane. It’s my pleasure, and it’s so great to be with you and talk to your tribe.

Dr. Ivon Carney’s Journey to Integrative Medicine

From Traditional Gynecology to Holistic Practice

Dr. Diane: We’re going to link this all to libido, solutions, imaging problems with mammograms, and their benefits, but I think you have a really interesting story of being very traditional in gynecology and then becoming more holistic and integrative. Can you tell us a little about your story and why you left the traditional gynecological model?

Dr. Ivon: Absolutely. It is a story, and it was not an easy leap for me to take. I was grounded and really believed in the traditional approach. I was in the United States Air Force as a military doctor, so I was used to following the rules, saying “yes ma’am, yes sir,” and following algorithms. I could quote all the studies about why we do what we do—randomized clinical trials. When I got out of the military and started my own practice in 2003, as I started caring for more women, I realized I didn’t have answers when they asked more questions. There were some “aha” moments when recommendations changed. One was with hormone replacement. When the Women’s Health Initiative came out, all women got off their hormones because they were afraid of breast cancer. I went through that debacle of people stopping their hormones, suffering, and wondering if there was a better answer. Another issue was medicines for osteoporosis or osteopenia, which got a black-box warning saying to stop using them after five years because they increased the risk of atypical fractures. I thought, how can they be good for four years and 11 months, then suddenly problematic at five years? These doubts started rising in my mind.

Questioning Mammography Practices

Dr. Ivon: As a gynecologist, I was giving hundreds of patients over 40 prescriptions for mammograms, saying, “Get your screening done, take care of yourself, you don’t want cancer.” But in the back of my head, I wondered about the radiation from mammography—isn’t that a risk for cancer? I was following the algorithms, doing it right, but as I questioned and looked deeper, I realized I didn’t have the tools in my toolbox to help the women I wanted to help. That’s when I started looking at functional and integrative medicine, spending more time with patients to really get to know them. In 2016, I left my practice because we were lined up to see 25-30 patients a day, 15 minutes max, running them through. As I learned more, I realized women need to know this stuff. They need to make informed decisions on their own. Many rely on doctors to tell them the right thing because they want to be good patients. A key factor in medicine is informed consent, relying on the individual’s intelligence to make decisions about their health when given information about risks, benefits, alternatives, and limitations.

Dr. Diane: The Latin root of the word “doctor” is to teach, not just hand out prescriptions or directives. Informed consent is part of the Hippocratic oath—to teach people what’s happening and help them make the best decision for themselves. This conversation is so important because hormones and breast cancer screening give women so much anxiety in midlife. Do I need HRT? Is it safe? What do I do about mammograms or breast cancer in general? It’s important to take control of your health.

Mammograms: Benefits, Risks, and Limitations

Deciding on Screening

Dr. Ivon: The first thing you have to decide is, do you want screening? If you want screening, what are your options? There’s only one traditionally approved option—mammograms. But 35% of women in the mammogram age range don’t get them. They’ve decided against it. So, what do they do? Do they just wait, or is there something else? That’s why this conversation is important.

Dr. Diane: Let’s break this down from the standpoint of informed consent. What do you feel are the biggest benefits, risks, and limitations of mammograms?

Benefits of Mammograms

Dr. Ivon: The benefit of breast cancer screening is to detect cancer before you feel a lump. There’s a five- to ten-year gap between when something is detectable on imaging and when you feel a lump. During that time, things can progress and spread. The goal is to detect cancer early when it’s easier to treat, hopefully extending life, though that’s debatable. Early detection might mean a lumpectomy—removing the tumor with a margin—versus a mastectomy and chemotherapy if caught later. Easier treatment is crucial, even if it doesn’t necessarily lengthen life.

Limitations of Mammograms

Dr. Ivon: Limitations are things that don’t necessarily cause harm but might not work well. For women with dense breasts, mammograms don’t work effectively. Mammograms are X-rays looking for abnormal calcium deposits caused by disorganized blood vessels in tiny cancer tumors. Dense breasts have more fibrous tissue, which appears white and bright, hiding calcifications. Mammograms miss up to 50% of cancers in women with dense breasts, and 40% of the population has dense breasts, especially premenopausal women aged 40-50. For those with a family history or genetic predisposition starting screening earlier, they almost always have dense breasts. The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends a handheld ultrasound with mammograms for dense breasts, but insurance often doesn’t cover it. Handheld ultrasound is better but grainy. Another limitation is false positives—90% of abnormal mammograms are false positives. While it’s great that 90% of these women don’t have cancer, they go through additional views, spot compression, ultrasounds, MRIs with IV contrast, or biopsies to prove it. The anxiety during this two- to three-week period is significant, and stress affects health.

Dr. Diane: The huge limitation is false negatives, but there’s also a substantial number of false positives. The stress from false positives takes a toll, even when you get the all-clear.

Risks of Mammograms

Dr. Ivon: Risks imply harm. I had a patient who had a biopsy after an abnormal mammogram, which was clear, but she developed a huge breast hematoma requiring a drain and surgery. She went through two months of pain and scar tissue to prove she didn’t have cancer. Radiation is a proven risk. A study from the early 2000s on atomic bomb survivors calculated that for every 100,000 mammograms, there would be eight radiation-induced cancers and 11 cancer deaths. Another study suggested that lower-frequency radiation from mammograms is four to six times more likely to-cause DNA damage than gamma radiation from nuclear bombs, potentially increasing the risk to hundreds per 100,000. Traditional doctors believe the benefit of early detection outweighs the risk, but the system doesn’t educate women about this risk. Women are often shamed or coerced into mammograms without discussing potential risks.

Dr. Diane: Why not let women know and make informed decisions? If you want a mammogram, that’s supported, but you should have full knowledge to weigh the options.

Alternatives to Mammograms

Limitations of Thermography

Dr. Ivon: Up until recently, there hasn’t been much choice—wait until you feel a lump, which is five to ten years later and about a centimeter in size, or get thermography. Thermography studies heat, which is sensitive for cancer due to its inflammatory nature, but it’s not specific. A mosquito bite, pimple, or infection can also show heat, so it’s not ideal for structural evaluation.

Introducing QT Imaging

Dr. Ivon: There’s exciting new technology called QT Imaging, soon to be Breast Acoustic CT. Developed around 2014-2015 with a $20 million NIH grant, it uses the speed of sound through tissue, more advanced than traditional ultrasound. It provides structural and physiologic evaluation, detecting abnormalities as small as a few stacked cells. It predicts histology without compression, radiation, or IV contrast. You lie on your belly, lowered into a warm water bath, with minimal discomfort—only potential neck strain for 10 minutes. It’s safe for women with implants, unlike mammograms, which risk rupture. It’s true 3D imaging, measuring breast volume accurately, and is used to monitor treatment response within two to six weeks. It’s FDA-cleared, particularly for women with dense breasts, where it excels compared to mammograms.

Dr. Diane: This will change how we test, monitor, treat, and reduce fear. It’s phenomenal.

Bringing QT Imaging to Women

Grassroots Adoption

Dr. Ivon: I’ve been on a mission for two years to bring QT Imaging to my practice. The mammogram industry is solid, so the company isn’t aiming to replace it, but it’s perfect for the 35% of women who opt out of mammograms. A few doctors nationwide are passionate about offering it. In my practice in the Chicago suburbs, you don’t need to be a member—we’ll scan women from anywhere and send results to their doctor, though some doctors may not know how to interpret them yet. Over time, through studies and awareness, it will become more accepted. We’re trailblazing, not waiting for radiology centers to adopt it.

Dr. Diane: We start change by becoming the change, not waiting for it.

Connecting with Dr. Ivon Carney

Dr. Diane: We’re out of time, but we’ll include your clinic information and how to get a QT scan in the show notes. Another way to connect is through your free hormone quiz, correct?

Dr. Ivon: Yes, it’s a robust 64-question quiz, not a quick six-question one. It hchartjs hones in on which symptoms relate to hormone imbalances and provides an educational process afterward. It’s on my website. For breast imaging, women can visit ChicagoBreastImaging.com to request an appointment. My team will arrange it.

Dr. Diane: Thank you so much for being here. It’s such a pleasure, and your work will save lives and reduce fear and anxiety. This is another episode of the Lounge. In 2024, the person with the most downloads, likes, and shares will be invited back for a super-duper deep dive. Please download and share this with your friends—many need this information. I’m signing off, reminding you to stay sexy, stay classy, always be a little badass-y. You can find me on YouTube, on Instagram, and check out our Modern Libido Club for so much more!