Chemical Early Menopause

Radiation Therapy and/or Chemotherapy

With the rise in cancer treatments has come a rise in premature menopause due to these treatments. Unfortunately, the significant doses of radiation or chemotherapy used to kill cancer can also damage the ovaries -- resulting in premature menopause. In some cases -- especially when you've received low dose/short term treatment, you may experience temporary menopause due to chemo or radiation therapy. Your ovarian function may stop working regularly for a few months after treatment, but then return to normal after four months or so. But often, even when your periods return, you remain infertile.

Tamoxifen
Tamoxifen used to be prescribed after you were diagnosed for breast cancer -- and, as with other forms of chemo, you would run a risk for premature menopause as a side effect. But recently doctors have begun prescribing Tamoxifen as a preventative to women with a high risk for breast cancer, since it cuts breast cancer rates by about 45 percent.

While the media has focused on the positive aspects of this drug (and there are many), there is an important potential side effect to Tamoxifen that hasn't been played up a great deal: it can send you into premature menopause. This happens because Tamoxifen takes the place that estrogen would and so acts as an estrogen-blocker. Since your body isn't getting the regular amount of estrogen it would naturally get -- and since low estrogen levels signal your body to produce more FSH -- your body ultimately may react by entering menopause prematurely. One important point: Often this is a temporary effect and regular ovarian function returns.

I wanted to post this information because it is really depressing but informative. I know many women my age that are using this treatment and I have already warned them. Now I want to warn all others that might be under the same circumstances.