Hello there, Thank you for your question. As one ages the hormone levels start going down especially in women. With low estrogen in the body the vagina starts to dry out and that is why you maybe experiencing pain during intercourse. For this problem we generally prescribe Estrace cream which is an estrogen cream which reduces the dryness and thus helps in reducing the pain. External hormones when used can increase the risk of certain cancers but let me reassure you that this is when you take oral medication of estrogen and the chances of someone developing endometrial or breast cancer with local therapy with estrogen cream is much lesser. Especially the duration of therapy is also important. More than 1 year of therapy is higher risk for cancers. Be aware about the risks and decide based on what is better. Getting regular check ups and reporting to the doctor if you have any vaginal bleeding or breast lump will help you to detect problems early. So you can use the cream for some weeks and then stop. This would help you relieve the pain and improve vaginal secretions but also not increase your cancer risks. Hope this helps. Take care.