Chemotherapy and Menopause

au0rei

Hi all,

I had four rounds of chemo from Jan to April. My period disappeared after my second chemo and hasn't come since. I am 43.

Did any of you have this happen to you? If so, did the period ever return? Just wondering if I am already menopause lol.

Thanks.

xx

Nadi

Same thing happened to me. I was 47. If you don't have a period for a year they call it chemo induced menopause. I haven't had a period in 18 months.

au0rei

Thanks @Nadi I wonder how our hormones are like then haha... since there's no periods.

Nadi

Many chemo drugs destroy our ovaries and therefore we stop producing the hormone oestrogen which affects fertility and periods. That's why a lot of women in their late teens or twenties are sometimes asked to consider freezing their eggs. Lack of oestrogen also effects our moods. 

Barney74

Hi ladies great something to look forward to NOT.im 42 and starting chemo shortly i was told i could start early menuopause. Not sure if im looking forward to that ,i know one thing i wont miss havinga period anymore when that decides to happen.Take care xx

[Deleted User]

Hi, I was 42 when I had 6 months of chemo and my periods stopped for 2 years and then returned at the same time as my hair straightened out! 

Deanne

Hi,
I was 47 when I had chemo. My periods did not stop until my 4th dose and returned 18 months after I finished chemo. This came as a big shock as I had been told that I was in menopause by my oncologist and that it was most likely permanent.

I have since had my ovaries removed as I was er+ and wanted to change from Tamoxifen to an AI for better protection against recurrence.

au0rei

Nadi said:

Many chemo drugs destroy our ovaries and therefore we stop producing the hormone oestrogen which affects fertility and periods. That's why a lot of women in their late teens or twenties are sometimes asked to consider freezing their eggs. Lack of oestrogen also effects our moods. 

I would be a bit surprised at this. If this is the case then why do I hear so much recurrence, and usually recurrence is due to oestrogen's work, wasn't it?

au0rei

Deanne said:

Hi,
I was 47 when I had chemo. My periods did not stop until my 4th dose and returned 18 months after I finished chemo. This came as a big shock as I had been told that I was in menopause by my oncologist and that it was most likely permanent.

I have since had my ovaries removed as I was er+ and wanted to change from Tamoxifen to an AI for better protection against recurrence.

Are you on hormone replacement since ovaries are removed? xx

Nadi

See https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/treatment/chemotherapy/ for more info on chemo and oestrogen. Apart from reducing oestrogen chemo also affects our eggs.  

Deanne

Hi @au0rei
As my breast cancer was hormone positive, I cannot be on hormone replacement after having my ovaries removed. My ovaries were removed so that I could further protect myself from a recurrence of the cancer by changing from one type of anti-hormone medication (Tamoxifen) to a different type (Femara or Letrozole). Femara gives a slightly better protection than Tamoxifen but you can only take Femara if you are definitely in menopause.

I was 49 when my ovaries were removed and as I had already been through chemo induced 'menopause' I did not really feel I went through anything dramatically different to what I had already experienced. I only had 3 periods between coming out of the chemo menopause and then having my ovaries removed.
xxx