Menopause comes as a shock for nearly a third of people who experience early onset menopause caused by cancer treatment.
New research, carried out by cancer support charity Maggie’s, shows that 30% of people diagnosed with cancer weren’t aware that their treatment could cause early menopause, and many find the symptoms of menopause worse than their cancer treatment.
The survey*, of people who have attended the charity’s menopause workshops, also found that nearly three quarters (73%) of those that were told were given little to no information about early onset menopause. Over half (54%) said that the information they received was just a conversation with a healthcare professional but 78% said they would have preferred more than one form of information.
Maggie’s Chief Executive Dame Laura Lee commented: “Early onset menopause caused by treatment can be incredibly difficult. Many people don’t realise that they will experience menopause as a consequence of their treatment, perhaps because they weren’t told or didn’t take in the information as they were so focused on their cancer diagnosis.
“People often describe their menopausal symptoms being as hard to cope with as the cancer itself.
“Then there is the emotional impact – these are often young people who are a long way from a natural menopause. The impact can be far reaching impacting on long term health, intimacy and relationships. It is a huge issue, but we can help.”
Alice MacGillivray, 41 from London, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35. After treatment she had her ovarian tubes removed as a precaution because she has the BRCA1 gene and as a result went through medical menopause which she says hit her harder than the cancer itself.
Alice said: “The menopause for me was harder than the cancer, it was too much. I wanted to be out of my body. Because of the cancer, I’d had a mastectomy and my ovarian tubes removed but because I was a young woman, people would pass comments like ‘oh, that’s such a shame, you’re so young’. People are trying to be kind, but it does build up on you. Not having a partner or a job, or a choice to have children made me feel unmoored, but I found I could talk to the people in Maggie’s about that. They taught me that life itself is the prize – and that nothing else matters
“Even though I was over cancer, the menopause made me feel like I was broken again. I’d come into Maggie’s sweating, probably three or four times a week. I met others going through the menopause, there was a lot of perspective. I could find the funny side and laugh about it when I spoke to others too. I lived with other young girls in a busy area in a very transient flat, where everything was fast-paced and high energy, so the tranquillity and peacefulness just helped me to align and collect myself.”
Maggie’s has been running menopause workshops online and at some of its centres across the UK for four years after noticing that many people were talking to Maggie’s staff about how challenging they were finding the symptoms of treatment induced early onset menopause alongside their cancer treatment.
Maggie’s Barts offers one to one support for people with cancer going through menopause. For further information contact [email protected] or call 020 3904 3448.
Maggie’s West London runs menopause workshops for people with cancer going through menopause. For further information contact [email protected] or call 020 7386 1750.
Maggie’s Royal Free offers one to one support for people with cancer going through menopause. For further information contact [email protected].
Maggie’s at The Royal Marsden runs menopause workshops for people with cancer going through menopause. For further information contact [email protected] or call 020 3982 3141.
Carolyn Harris MP, chair of the APPG on Menopause and menopause campaigner commented: “When I visited Maggie’s recently, I heard that so many women with cancer aren’t prepared for the life altering effects of menopause that their treatment throws them into.
Many said that they ‘crashed’ into the menopause and weren’t sure whether the pain, flushes and mood swings were part of their treatment or something else. Most are also left to cope on their own with no option for HRT and feel like they have no-where to turn.
This is such an important topic to raise awareness on and it’s fantastic to learn that Maggie’s is offering specific support to anyone going through menopause as a result of cancer treatment.”
