Hot Flashes and Acceptance

  New symptom: Hot Flashes! They kicked in last night, not even 24 hours after cycle 4. So stoked am I.

I'll go to my normal coping mechanism, humor:

Steve's new use for me

 Now for the fact vs. feeling approach - this one is fact:

 Per breastcancer.org, one type of menopause that occurs is medical menopause:

Medical menopause, or medically-induced menopause, happens when the ovaries:

• are surgically removed — called surgical menopaus
• are shut down with medicine, such as Lupron (chemical name: leuprolide) or Zoladex (chemical name: goserelin) — called medical menopause
• stop working because of chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or another type of treatment for a medical condition (my situation)

With any form of medical menopause, the ovaries stop functioning and your estrogen and progesterone levels drop quickly and dramatically (which we want since my cancer is estrogen and progesterone positive!) Medically-induced menopause often causes more intense and troubling side effects, especially if you’re younger. Yay!

How menopause can happen with breast cancer treatments

Certain breast cancer treatments can cause induced menopause. Treatment-induced menopause is usually more sudden and the symptoms are more severe than when menopause happens naturally.

Chemotherapy-induced menopause 

 

Chemotherapy destroys cells that divide quickly, like cancer cells. The ovaries also contain rapidly dividing cells, which also are affected by chemotherapy. This is why chemotherapy can bring on menopause.

Certain chemotherapy drugs are more likely to cause menopause than others. Chemotherapy regimens that use Cytoxan (chemical name: cyclophosphamide) commonly cause menopause, though it’s possible for any chemotherapy regimen to do so.

Targeted therapies, such as Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab) - again, me - , are often given along with chemotherapy. These medicines target specific features of cancer cells, such as HER2 proteins. It’s important to discuss all the medicines recommended for you with your doctor. Many targeted therapies have a low risk of harming the ovaries.

How quickly the ovaries recover after chemotherapy depends on how old you are and the types and doses of medicines you receive. Chemotherapy-induced menopause may be permanent. The older you are, the higher the risk that menopause will be permanent. It’s important to talk to your doctor about steps you may be able to take to preserve your fertility before you start treatment.

Hormonal therapy-induced menopause

Hormonal therapy medicines, also called anti-estrogen therapy, endocrine therapy, or hormone therapy, treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer by lowering estrogen levels in your body or by blocking the effects of estrogen on breast cancer cells. Hormonal therapy medicines don’t actually cause menopause, but, because of how they work, you’re likely to have some menopausal symptoms while you’re taking them. 

Tamoxifen and other selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs) - will be me - can cause menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. Tamoxifen may be recommended for both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. Tamoxifen works by blocking estrogen from stimulating certain cells to grow and multiply.

I knew this was coming but didn't know when. Here it is, and I accept it.