Meet Dr. Mary Jane Minkin. The doctor who prescribes vibrators to her cancer patients.
BPA and phthalate free vibrators that are made out of silicone – and can even be charged using a USB cable – to be precise.
Okay, so it’s unconventional.
But Dr Minkin has the best interests (and the satisfied sex lives) of her patients at heart.
Minkin was recently interviewed by VICE magazine, and told interviewer Sophie Saint Thomas that one of the ‘medical benefits’ of the vibrator is its ability to increase blood flow to the vagina.
Many of the women involved in the program, who are cancer survivors, are going through menopause. Ergo, their estrogen levels have gone down. And when that happens, women can experience dryness in their vagina – which makes sex a lot more uncomfortable.
While Minkin says that she’s “all for people having orgasms”, the real purpose of the vibrator in these cases is “simply increasing pelvic blood flow with vibrator therapy.”
Although she does note that, “having an orgasm helps people feel better about their partner. It helps people relax. We like people to be relaxed and less stressed—that is a good thing.”
Dr Minkin says that she started giving out vibrators only a few months ago. Their goal was to make sure that all cancer survivors are in touch with their sexuality – and enjoying their lives.
We imagine that the vibrator does assist with the patients’, er, enjoyment.
To decide who participates, the clinic gets women who visit the oncology clinic to fill in a survey about how satisfied they are with their sex lives – and they get a vibrator in return. Simple.
Not every patient at the Yale Cancer Clinic is participating, but Minkin says that they “have a number who are—we certainly seem to have patients who seem happy, so we are happy with that.”
On whether or not she had experienced any negative reactions, Minkin did say that sometimes the ‘older generation’ (her words, not ours) had more difficulty accepting the idea of sex having medical implications. But concluded:
“Vibrators have been around for years, and we think they are terrific, but I like to take them out of the closet. Sex isn’t dirty, but some people still think that way. I think that people need to realize that sex can have medical implications as well.”
So, what do you think of the ‘medical benefits’ of vibrators? Do you have a vibrator for other ‘health’ reasons?
Top Comments
Menopause or cancer?
I think they mean that her cancer patients are suffering medically induced menopause and this is to help with the symptoms of that.
! In my case Menopausal and have other female issues at
This time I m hoping after surgery i pray ill be
Back to my normal self soon even if using device
if necessary what ever it takes..
?!!★☆☆
Ok what I would like to know but have never had the courage to ask (but hey this is snonymous) when doctors say that sex is good for vaginal health are they talking about orgasm or penetration? Because as we all know its possible to have one without the other. Therefore also when she says these vibrators increase blood flow does she just mean an orgasm does this or does it have to be penetration or both? So if someone used this on the clit but not vaginally is still just as good health wise. Sorry this seems such a silly question but it's just that often you hear that sex is supposed to be good for vaginal health and I'm never sure if the mean orgasm or penetration. Too embarrassed to ask this question but I wish doctors would be a bit more specific.
I interpret it as "stimulation', which increases blood flow. Not necessarily orgasm or penetration.