Life After Vulvar Cancer Treatment: Intimacy, Body Image and Emotional Support

The first time she saw the scar in the bathroom mirror, she did not cry. She tilted the hand mirror, looked for a long moment, and then put it face down on the counter. Weeks later she told her nurse that the hardest part of life after vulvar cancer treatment was not the pain. It was not knowing what counted as normal anymore, in her body or in her marriage.

That silence is common. Vulvar cancer is rare, which means most people have never met anyone who has had it, and the part of the body involved is one many of us were raised not to name out loud. The vulva, the external female genitals including the labia and clitoris, is treated with surgery, radiation, sometimes chemotherapy, and the aftermath touches sex, bladder habits, how clothes fit and how a person sees herself.

This article is about that aftermath: what the evidence says changes, what tends to settle, and which problems deserve a phone call rather than quiet endurance.

What life after vulvar cancer treatment actually involves

Start with the plumbing, because the emotional story only makes sense once the physical one is clear. Most vulvar cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, meaning they begin in the flat skin cells that cover the vulva. The National Cancer Institute describes two broad routes to the disease: one linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted virus, and one linked to long-standing skin inflammation such as lichen sclerosus, a chronic condition that thins and whitens vulvar skin. The route matters later, because lichen sclerosus does not disappear after cancer treatment and still needs care.

Treatment usually centers on surgery. A vulvectomy is the removal of part or all of the vulva; the extent depends on the size and location of the tumor. Surgeons also check the lymph nodes in the groin, small bean-shaped filters that drain fluid from the vulva, because cancer can travel there first. A sentinel lymph node biopsy removes only the first node or two in the drainage path, while a full groin dissection removes many. Radiation, sometimes with chemotherapy to make it more effective, may be used instead of or after surgery when the tumor is large or nodes are involved, as the Mayo Clinic’s treatment overview explains.

Each of these steps leaves a footprint. Removing vulvar tissue can change where urine streams, how nerve endings respond to touch and how the vaginal opening sits. Node surgery disturbs lymph drainage in the legs. Radiation thins and tightens skin and the lower vagina over months. None of this makes a person less whole, but pretending the changes are trivial helps no one. Recovery is partly about healing and partly about learning a slightly different body.

Who is ready to resume normal life, and who is usually asked to wait

Readiness is not a single date circled on a calendar. Surgeons generally separate two questions: when is the wound safe, and when is the person comfortable. The first is theirs to answer; the second belongs to the patient.

People who had a small, localized excision with no lymph node surgery often get the earliest green light to sit normally, walk longer distances, bathe and eventually resume sexual activity. Those who had a wider vulvectomy, a full groin dissection, skin grafts or a flap reconstruction (where nearby tissue is moved to cover the wound) are usually asked to wait longer. Groin incisions sit in a fold of skin that moves with every step and collects moisture, which is why the Cleveland Clinic lists wound breakdown and infection among the common early complications of vulvar surgery.

Radiation shifts the timeline differently. Skin reactions in the treated area tend to peak toward the end of a course and in the weeks right after it, when the skin can be raw and weeping. Teams typically ask people to avoid friction, including intercourse, until the surface has healed, then to begin gentle stretching of the vagina so that scar tissue does not shorten it.

There are also medical reasons to pause beyond the wound itself. Ongoing chemotherapy, a low blood count, uncontrolled diabetes that slows healing, or a lymphocele (a pocket of lymph fluid under the skin) can all push things back. The treating team weighs these, and any timeline you read here or elsewhere is a typical range, not a promise. Ask directly: what specifically needs to happen before I can sit, drive, lift, bathe, work and have sex? A good team will give a different answer for each.

How long does vulvar cancer recovery take? Vulvectomy recovery time explained

The honest answer is that wound healing and feeling recovered run on separate clocks. The incision clock is faster. Hospital stays after vulvectomy range from a day or two for a local excision to longer for radical surgery with groin dissection and drains, according to the Mayo Clinic’s description of surgical options. Drains, the thin tubes that carry fluid away from the groin, usually come out once output falls, a decision made by the surgical team rather than on a fixed schedule.

Sitting is the complaint people least expect. The vulva bears weight whenever you sit, so a firm chair can feel impossible for a while; many people find a soft cushion with a cut-out or lying on one side more tolerable in the early weeks. Walking is encouraged early because it protects against blood clots, but long walks and stairs tire people quickly for a period that is typically counted in weeks rather than days.

The slower clock is the one measuring sensation, continence and confidence. Nerves regrow slowly and incompletely. Numbness around the scar can persist for months; some areas never regain full feeling, while others become oddly sensitive. If part of the urethra or surrounding tissue was removed, the urine stream may spray or deviate, which usually improves as swelling settles but can sometimes require a change in how a person sits to urinate.

The National Cancer Institute’s patient summary is clear that follow-up care continues for years after treatment ends, which is a useful reframing. Recovery is not a finish line crossed at the six-week check. It is a longer settling in, with most of the dramatic improvement early and quieter gains after.

What the first weeks and months usually look like

The first fortnight is dominated by wound care. Keeping the area clean and dry is the central task: rinsing with warm water after using the toilet, patting rather than rubbing, and letting air reach the skin when possible. Loose cotton underwear or none at all under a skirt is a practical, unglamorous tip that many nurses pass on. Pain is managed with whatever the team prescribes; the point here is not what medicine but the principle that uncontrolled pain slows mobility and therefore recovery.

Weeks two to six bring the first real tests of ordinary life. Bowel movements can be frightening when stitches sit close by, so teams usually advise avoiding straining with fluids, fiber and stool softeners if prescribed. Groin wounds may partially separate, which looks alarming but is a recognized complication that heals from the base upward with dressing care; the Cleveland Clinic notes wound problems in this region are common because of moisture and movement. Fatigue is pronounced, and people often underestimate it.

By the second and third month, many people have returned to desk work, driving and light exercise. This is also when the emotional weight tends to land. The acute crisis has passed, visitors thin out, and the question of what the body is now becomes unavoidable. Radiation effects are also arriving late: the skin has healed, but the lower vagina may be starting to feel tighter and drier.

From roughly three to twelve months, the agenda shifts to rebuilding: pelvic floor therapy, graduated dilator use if advised, reintroducing intimacy, watching the legs for swelling and learning the follow-up rhythm. The pace is individual. Age, other health conditions, how radical the surgery was and whether radiation was added all change the picture, which is why the treating team’s version of this timeline is the one that counts.

Sex after vulvar cancer: what changes, and what can help

Nobody should have to raise this topic alone in a five-minute appointment, yet many do. The National Cancer Institute’s guidance on sexual health after cancer treatment is blunt about the range of effects: surgery in the genital area can reduce sensation or make certain touch painful, radiation can thin and shorten the vagina and reduce natural lubrication, and the fatigue and mood changes of treatment lower desire. Vulvar surgery adds a specific layer. If the clitoris or part of it was removed, orgasm may change in intensity or require different stimulation. If the labia were removed, the vaginal opening may sit differently and feel exposed.

What helps is practical and layered. Lubricant is the first and simplest tool; water-based or silicone-based products reduce friction, and silicone lasts longer. Vaginal moisturizers, used regularly rather than at the moment of sex, address day-to-day dryness. Low-dose vaginal estrogen is a prescription option some clinicians discuss for dryness and thinning, because the tissue responds to hormone locally; whether it is appropriate depends on the cancer type and medical history, and that decision sits with the treating team.

Vaginal dilators are smooth cylinders in graduated sizes used to gently stretch the vagina and prevent scar tissue from narrowing it after radiation. The National Cancer Institute recommends them for people who have had pelvic radiation, with the care team showing how and how often. Pelvic floor physical therapy, delivered by a therapist trained in the muscles that support the bladder, bowel and vagina, addresses guarding, pain and coordination.

Position matters too. Side-lying or the partner on top with the woman controlling depth reduces pressure on scars. Many couples find that redefining sex to include everything that is not penetration, at least for a while, restores closeness faster than aiming straight for what used to work.

Body image after vulvar surgery: making peace with a changed body

Body image is not vanity. It is the running sense of what your body is and whether it is yours, and vulvar surgery disrupts it in a way that is harder to talk about than a mastectomy scar precisely because almost no one sees the area. There is no public vocabulary, few photographs of what healing looks like, and a lifetime of social messaging that the vulva should be private, tidy and unmentioned.

Looking is a reasonable first step, done on your own terms. Some people look in the hospital with a nurse present so questions can be answered in real time; others wait weeks. Either is fine. What the evidence on adjustment after cancer consistently shows, and the National Cancer Institute reflects in its survivorship material, is that avoidance tends to prolong distress while gradual exposure, with support, tends to reduce it. Knowing exactly what the scar looks like takes away the power of imagining something worse.

Clothing becomes practical rather than cosmetic for a while: softer waistbands, no seams at the groin, fabrics that breathe. Swimming and tight exercise clothing often return once skin has healed and any lymphedema is managed; a vulvar scar is invisible in a swimsuit even if it feels enormous to the person wearing it.

Where the surgery was extensive, reconstructive options exist and can be discussed with a surgeon, though many people decide against further procedures once healing is complete. Psychological support has a stronger evidence base than most people realize. Counseling that specifically addresses body image after cancer, whether individual or in a group, is a legitimate part of medical care, not a sign of failing to cope. If your team has not offered it, asking is reasonable.

Leg swelling and lymphedema after lymph node surgery

Lymphedema is the complication most people in this situation say nobody fully warned them about. Lymph is the clear fluid that carries immune cells and waste through a network of vessels and nodes; when groin nodes are removed or irradiated, fluid from the leg has fewer routes back toward the heart and can pool in the thigh, lower leg or genital area. The National Cancer Institute’s lymphedema summary notes it can appear soon after treatment or months to years later, which is why vigilance does not end at the first follow-up.

Early signs are subtle: a feeling of heaviness, a sock mark that lasts longer on one side, a shoe that fits less well by evening, or skin that looks shinier. Catching it at this stage matters because established lymphedema is managed rather than reversed. The Cleveland Clinic’s overview describes the mainstays of treatment as manual lymphatic drainage (a specialized light massage), compression garments, exercise and skin care, delivered by a certified lymphedema therapist.

Skin care deserves emphasis. Lymphedema raises the risk of cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection, because stagnant fluid is a comfortable home for bacteria. Moisturizing dry skin, treating athlete’s foot promptly, wearing shoes outdoors and cleaning any cut quickly are small habits with outsized value. A red, hot, rapidly spreading area on a swollen leg, especially with fever, needs same-day medical attention.

Sentinel node biopsy was developed partly to reduce this problem by removing fewer nodes, and risk is generally lower after it than after full dissection, though not zero. If you are unsure which procedure you had, ask. It changes how closely you watch your legs and whether a baseline measurement with a lymphedema therapist makes sense before any swelling begins.

Emotional recovery, fear of recurrence and support for partners

Anxiety after cancer treatment often behaves badly. It is rarely at its worst during active treatment, when there is a plan and a team. It surfaces afterward, in the gap between appointments, and it attaches itself to small physical sensations: an itch near the scar, a twinge in the groin, a swollen gland after a cold. Fear of recurrence is recognized across survivorship literature as one of the most common and persistent concerns, and vulvar cancer adds an awkward twist because the surveillance exam itself is intimate and can reawaken distress.

Some strategies help without pretending the fear is irrational. Agreeing with the team on which symptoms genuinely warrant a call, and writing them down, replaces constant vigilance with a short list. Scheduling rather than avoiding follow-up turns the exam into a known quantity. Noticing when checking the vulva becomes compulsive, several times a day, is a signal that talking to a psychologist or counselor could help; cognitive behavioral approaches have good evidence for health anxiety.

Depression is also common after cancer and is underdiagnosed in older women, the group most often affected by vulvar cancer according to Mayo Clinic epidemiology. Loss of pleasure, early waking and hopelessness lasting more than a couple of weeks are worth naming to a doctor.

Partners carry their own version of this. Many become afraid of causing pain and withdraw from touch entirely, which the patient reads as rejection. Honest, specific conversation closes that gap faster than reassurance: this hurts, this does not, this is what I would like tonight. Couples counseling with someone experienced in illness is a reasonable resource. For people without a partner, the question of when and how to tell someone new is real and worth rehearsing with a counselor or a peer who has been there.

Life after vulvar cancer treatment: follow-up, VIN and recurrence surveillance

Follow-up is where survivorship care becomes concrete. The National Cancer Institute’s patient summary explains that regular check-ups continue for years because vulvar cancer can recur at the original site, in the groin nodes or, less often, elsewhere. Visits are typically closer together in the first years and spaced out later, with the exact interval set by the treating team according to stage and treatment. Each visit usually involves examining the vulva and groin and asking about symptoms; imaging is used when something is found rather than routinely.

Two terms come up often in this context. Vulvar carcinoma in situ, more commonly called vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia or VIN, is a precancerous change confined to the surface layer of vulvar skin that has not invaded deeper tissue. It is a diagnosis in its own right for some people and a finding at the margins of surgery for others. VIN can recur or appear in new areas, particularly when HPV or lichen sclerosus is still present, so people who had VIN or whose cancer arose alongside it need ongoing skin surveillance even after the invasive cancer is treated.

Lichen sclerosus itself continues after cancer. It is usually managed with prescribed topical anti-inflammatory treatment and regular examination, because untreated inflammation is thought to be part of what drives cancer in that pathway. Keeping up with that treatment is part of survivorship, not a separate problem.

Bartholin’s gland malignancy occasionally surfaces in search results and is worth defining. The Bartholin’s glands are two small glands on either side of the vaginal opening that produce lubricating fluid; cancer arising there is a rare subtype of vulvar cancer, often an adenocarcinoma (a cancer of gland cells) rather than a squamous cell cancer, and it is treated along similar principles. Anyone with a persistent lump at that location after treatment should have it examined rather than assume it is a cyst.

Treatment types and their longer-term effects compared

Different treatments leave different footprints, and knowing which one you had helps predict which problems to watch for. The table below summarizes typical longer-term effects drawn from the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic descriptions of vulvar cancer treatment. It is a map, not a forecast; many people experience only some of these, and intensity varies widely.

Treatment	What it involves	Common longer-term effects	Who usually helps
Local excision	Removal of the tumor with a margin of healthy skin	Scar sensitivity, patchy numbness, mild change in vulvar shape	Surgeon, nurse specialist
Partial or radical vulvectomy	Removal of part or all of the vulva, sometimes with reconstruction	Altered sensation or orgasm, changed urine stream, narrowed or exposed vaginal opening, body image distress	Surgeon, pelvic floor therapist, psychologist
Sentinel lymph node biopsy	Removal of the first one or two draining groin nodes	Lower but real risk of leg lymphedema; groin numbness	Lymphedema therapist
Groin lymph node dissection	Removal of many groin nodes on one or both sides	Higher risk of lymphedema, wound breakdown, lymphocele, groin numbness	Lymphedema therapist, wound nurse
Radiation, with or without chemotherapy	Targeted beams to vulva and groin over several weeks	Vaginal dryness, shortening and narrowing, skin thinning and fragility, bladder or bowel irritation, added lymphedema risk	Radiation oncologist, pelvic floor therapist, gynecologist

Two patterns stand out. Lymphedema risk rises with every intervention to the groin, so people who had both node dissection and radiation are the ones who most benefit from early education and baseline leg measurements. Sexual changes, by contrast, follow the radiation and the extent of vulvar removal more than the node surgery. If you had a sentinel biopsy and a local excision, your watch list is short; if you had radical surgery with radiation, it is longer and starts earlier.

How long can a vulvar cancer survivor live? An honest answer about prognosis

This is the question typed into search engines at two in the morning, and it deserves a straight response rather than a dodge. Prognosis after vulvar cancer depends above all on the stage at diagnosis: how large the tumor was, how deeply it invaded and, most importantly, whether lymph nodes were involved, as the National Cancer Institute’s staging summary explains. Grade, tumor type, age and other health conditions also play a role. Published survival statistics exist, but they describe large groups treated in past years, often with older techniques, and they cannot tell any single person what will happen to her. For that reason this article does not quote them; the treating team, who know the specific pathology report, are the right people to interpret the numbers for you.

What can be said generally is this. Vulvar cancer confined to the vulva without node involvement is usually treated with the intent of long-term control, and many people live for many years afterward with routine follow-up as their main ongoing medical commitment. When nodes are involved, treatment is more intensive and surveillance closer, and the conversation about outlook is more individual. Recurrence, when it happens, is most often local and can frequently be treated again, which is one of the reasons follow-up visits matter.

A separate point gets lost. Because vulvar cancer is most often diagnosed after menopause, many people living after treatment are also managing heart disease, diabetes or arthritis, and these conditions shape day-to-day health at least as much as the cancer history does. Survivorship care that attends to blood pressure, bone health, mobility and mood, not just the scar, is what the evidence supports. Asking your oncology team and your primary care clinician how they divide those responsibilities is a concrete, useful question.

What people often get wrong about life after vulvar cancer treatment

The first myth is that sex is over. It is not, for most people, though it may be different. The National Cancer Institute is explicit that sexual problems after cancer treatment are common and treatable, and that many go unaddressed simply because neither patient nor clinician raises them. Silence, not surgery, ends more sex lives.

The second is that lymphedema only happens right after surgery, so a leg that looks fine at the six-month visit is in the clear. Lymphedema can begin years later, often after a trigger such as an insect bite, an infection, a long flight or a heavy gardening weekend. Lifelong skin care and awareness are the realistic standard.

Third, people assume HPV was the cause and that they or a partner did something wrong. A substantial share of vulvar cancers arise from the lichen sclerosus pathway with no HPV involvement, and HPV itself is so common that most sexually active adults encounter it at some point, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes. Blame is misplaced in either case.

Fourth, that once the cancer is treated the lichen sclerosus or VIN can be forgotten. Both can continue and both can lead to new problems, which is why surveillance and any prescribed skin treatment carry on.

Fifth, that feeling low or anxious months after a good outcome means something is wrong with you. Delayed emotional reaction is the rule, not the exception, and it responds to support.

Finally, there is a quieter error: measuring recovery against the body you had before. The more useful benchmark is the body you had last month. Progress in sensation, confidence, stamina and intimacy tends to arrive in small increments, and noticing them is part of how people describe finding their footing again.

Questions to ask your care team

Appointments are short and the subject is awkward, so a written list levels the field. Before leaving the hospital, or at the first follow-up, these questions tend to produce the most useful answers.

• Exactly which operation did I have, and which lymph nodes were removed? Can I have a copy of the operation note and pathology report?
• What specifically needs to happen before I can sit normally, drive, lift, bathe, return to work and have sex?
• Was the clitoris or urethra affected, and what changes in sensation or urination should I expect?
• What is my lymphedema risk, and should I see a lymphedema therapist for a baseline assessment before any swelling appears?
• If I had radiation, when should I start using dilators, how often, and who will show me?
• Are vaginal moisturizers or local estrogen appropriate for me given my cancer type?
• Can I be referred to a pelvic floor physical therapist?
• Do I still have lichen sclerosus or VIN, and how will it be treated and monitored?
• How often will follow-up visits happen, what will they involve, and which symptoms between visits should prompt a call?
• Who addresses sexual and emotional concerns on this team, and can I be referred to a psychologist or counselor experienced in cancer?
• How do my oncology team and my primary care clinician share responsibility for my other health conditions?

Two follow-up habits help. Bring a partner or friend to take notes, because stress erases memory. And ask the team how they prefer to receive questions between visits, whether through a nurse line or a patient portal, so that the small worries get answered before they grow. Clinicians generally welcome specific questions; what they struggle with is the unspoken ones.

When to call your doctor: red-flag signs after vulvar cancer treatment

Most of life after vulvar cancer treatment is managed at routine visits, but some signs warrant a call the same day, and a few warrant emergency care. The distinction matters because wound and lymphatic complications progress faster than most people expect, and recurrence is most treatable when found early.

Contact your team promptly if you notice a new lump, thickening, ulcer, persistent itch or area of color change on the vulva or in the groin; bleeding from the vulva that is not explained; pain in the vulva or groin that is new or worsening rather than settling; or a wound that opens, produces pus, smells unpleasant or has spreading redness around it. New or increasing swelling in one or both legs or in the genital area should be assessed, as should any fever without an obvious cause.

Seek urgent care if a swollen leg becomes red, hot and painful, particularly with fever or chills, which can indicate cellulitis; if one calf becomes painful, swollen and tender, which can signal a blood clot; or if you have sudden breathlessness or chest pain, which can indicate a clot that has traveled to the lungs. Heavy vaginal or vulvar bleeding, inability to pass urine, or severe pain not controlled by prescribed medicine are also reasons not to wait for the next appointment.

Emotional red flags count too. Persistent low mood, loss of interest in things you normally enjoy, thoughts of self-harm, or anxiety so intense that it stops you leaving the house or attending follow-up deserve the same urgency as a physical symptom. Your team would far rather hear from you about a worry that turns out to be nothing than miss a problem that needed attention, and every decision about what to do next rests with them.

Frequently asked questions

How long does vulvar cancer recovery take after surgery?

Recovery is measured in weeks for the wound and months for sensation and confidence. Hospital stays range from a day or two after local excision to longer after radical surgery with groin dissection, and sitting comfortably often takes weeks. Numbness and altered sensation can persist for months and may be partly permanent. Your surgical team sets the individual timeline based on the extent of surgery, healing and any radiation.

Is sex after vulvar cancer still possible?

Yes, for most people, though it may feel different and take time. Surgery can alter sensation or orgasm and radiation can cause dryness and narrowing of the vagina. Lubricants, vaginal moisturizers, dilators after radiation, pelvic floor therapy and adjusted positions all help, and the care team can discuss whether local estrogen is appropriate. Open conversation with a partner and with clinicians makes the biggest difference.

What is vulvectomy recovery time for a radical operation with lymph node removal?

Radical vulvectomy with groin dissection involves a longer hospital stay, drains and a higher chance of wound breakdown, so recovery is slower than after a local excision. Walking resumes early to prevent clots, while sitting, driving, lifting and sexual activity are reintroduced over weeks as wounds heal. Lymphedema risk is higher and can appear late. The surgical team gives individual guidance rather than a fixed date.

How long can a cancer survivor live after vulvar cancer?

Outlook depends mainly on the stage at diagnosis, especially whether lymph nodes were involved, along with tumor type, age and other health conditions. Published survival figures describe large groups treated in the past and cannot predict an individual’s course, which is why this article does not quote them. The treating team, who know your pathology report, are the right people to interpret prognosis for you.

What is vulvar carcinoma in situ?

Vulvar carcinoma in situ, now usually called vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia or VIN, is a precancerous change confined to the surface layer of vulvar skin without invasion into deeper tissue. It can be linked to HPV or to lichen sclerosus. VIN can recur or develop in new areas, so people who have had it, or whose cancer arose alongside it, need ongoing vulvar examinations even after the invasive cancer has been treated.

What is Bartholin's gland malignancy?

The Bartholin’s glands are two small glands beside the vaginal opening that produce lubrication. Cancer arising in them is a rare subtype of vulvar cancer, often an adenocarcinoma, meaning it starts in gland cells rather than skin cells. It is treated along similar principles to other vulvar cancers. A persistent lump at that location, during or after treatment, should be examined rather than assumed to be a benign cyst.

How does vulvar cancer survivorship follow-up work?

Follow-up involves regular examinations of the vulva and groin and a review of symptoms, with visits closer together in the early years and spaced out later according to stage and treatment. Imaging is used when something is found rather than routinely. Visits also cover lymphedema, sexual health, lichen sclerosus or VIN treatment and emotional wellbeing. The treating team sets the schedule and should tell you which symptoms warrant a call between visits.

How can I live my best life with cancer in the past or present?

Evidence-based survivorship care focuses on what you can influence: keeping follow-up appointments, caring for your skin and legs to lower lymphedema and infection risk, staying physically active within your team’s advice, treating dryness and pain rather than enduring them, and seeking counseling for anxiety or low mood early. Attending to other conditions like blood pressure and bone health matters as much as the cancer history for daily wellbeing.

Will lymphedema go away after vulvar cancer treatment?

Established lymphedema is usually managed rather than reversed, which is why early recognition matters. Signs include heaviness, lasting sock marks, tighter shoes by evening or shinier skin on one leg. Treatment by a certified lymphedema therapist combines manual lymphatic drainage, compression, exercise and skin care, and good control is common. Skin care also lowers the risk of cellulitis, a skin infection that needs same-day medical attention.

Did I get vulvar cancer because of something I or my partner did?

No. Vulvar cancer arises through two main pathways: one linked to HPV, a virus so common that most sexually active adults encounter it, and one linked to lichen sclerosus, a chronic skin condition with no connection to sexual behavior. Neither reflects a personal failing. What matters now is ongoing care for any lichen sclerosus or VIN and regular follow-up with the treating team.

References

• Vulvar Cancer, Cleveland Clinic
• Vulvar Cancer, MedlinePlus

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.