Chemotherapy or radiation therapy can prevent your ovaries from working properly. Some treatments reduce the total number of eggs in your ovaries, cause your ovaries to stop releasing eggs, and/or stop your ovaries producing oestrogen. This can mean your periods stop early.
For some people, this is temporary, and your periods will return after treatment. But if your period doesn’t come back within a year after you stop chemotherapy, it could be menopause – especially if you’re also experiencing hot flushes or other symptoms of menopause. The closer you were to natural menopause during chemotherapy treatment, the more likely it is that your menopause will be permanent.
Usually, the stages of menopause happen between the ages of 45-55, but treatments like chemotherapy can make it happen earlier. Learn more about early menopause.
A lot of factors influence how chemotherapy will affect your ovaries and hormone production. These include your age during treatment, what medications you were on, your dosage, and how long you were on medication.
Your menopause treatment will depend on what type of cancer you had. Hormone therapy is a safe and effective way for many people to manage menopause symptoms after chemotherapy. But some cancers, like breast cancer or endometrial cancer, mean that it’s best for you to avoid hormone-based treatment. In these cases, your menopause clinician will work with you to suggest non-hormonal options that can help you manage your symptoms.
Book your 45-minute initial appointment with one of our menopause clinicians.