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Breast Cancer Related MENOPAUSE |
Menopause is an age related change in a woman's life. The monthly period or menstruation ceases because the ovaries stop making enough hormones. It is a time when a woman can no longer bear children. Natural menopause is a gradual process that can take several years. Treatment for breast cancer can include the surgical removal of the ovaries,
radiation of the ovaries and/or chemotherapy. Surgery and radiation to the ovaries
cause immediate and severe menopause.
The powerful drugs in the chemotherapy treatments can cause
cessation of ovary functions, reduction of estrogen and progesterone
levels and loss of periods temporarily or permanently.
Menopause can occur anytime from forty-one to fifty-nine years of age.
One of the signs of menopause is not having menstruation for six to twelve months.
It can be confirmed by a blood test.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) - taking estrogen and/or progestin Please discuss this treatment option with your doctor because it can put a woman at risk for breast cancer. Women already diagnosed with breast cancer should
discuss other non hormonal options with their doctor,
oncologist, gynecologist or endocrinologist.
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Last updated on July 19, 2007 |
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