Cancer treatment leaves survivors with sexual difficulties that extend beyond physical symptoms and permeate many aspects of life, yet these concerns remain neglected in current cancer care. This paper responds to this gap by exploring how bespoke co-designed care technologies can support survivors when grounded in their lived sexual experiences. We conducted trauma-informed, generative workshops with two cancer survivors. The workshops surfaced four themes: gaps in anticipatory care, shifts from lovers to carers, unsettled bodies and selfhood, and navigating fragmented support. Through co-designing, we created Lived Experiences Archive (a ‘zine series of anonymous survivor stories) and BodyTalk (a sensory couple game for rebuilding emotional and physical intimacy). Beyond the artefacts, we contribute a methodological account of co-designing as care and empirical insights into post-cancer sexuality. We demonstrate the epistemic potential of bespoke intimate health technologies to generate situated forms of care and knowledge often overlooked in conventional health technology design.

Figure 1: We collaborated with illustrator Jules van Beurden to visually capture the themes of our paper.The header reflects the core of our research, illustrating how post-cancer sexual health care primarily addresses physiological issues.The drawing, showing a person lying in a pool of chemicals (symbolising both cancer treatment and pharmacological approaches to sexual health), highlights the disconnect between the complex nature of the problem (spanning psychological, social, cultural, and physical dimensions) and the narrow focus of current treatments on the physical aspect.Our work advocates for a holistic approach that integrates these broader dimensions into post-cancer sexual health care.