I've been advised by both my oncologist and doctor that my risk of BC recurrence is low enough to stop taking Tamoxifen after almost 6 years. I'm now 55 but I was not menopausal when I began treatment and had a Mirena coil inserted at the same time to combat possible side effects of womb lining build-up after a couple of polyps were found and removed. This, of course, stopped my periods and it was only a blood test last summer that revealed that I am likely menopausal with an FSH level of 36.

I've had a very good time on Tamoxifen, have felt extremely well, and barely any symptoms apart from some initial pain in my tailbone, strangely. I've also had minimal menopause symptoms apart from periods of hot flushes but generally, they are manageable. A little anxiety too. All of my friends are having terrible times with their menopauses and I've wondered for a while whether the combo of Tamoxifen and the coil have somehow staved off full-blown symptoms that everyone else seems to be having around me.

So my anxiety is about what will happen to me when I stop taking Tamoxifen and have the Mirena removed, but I can't find any info from health professionals anywhere. All there is was a thread on one of the breast cancer forums where people are detailing horrific experiences of coming off treatment, awful meno-type responses, anxiety, pain, etc and I am now really scared about stopping. My doctor just poo-poos it and says nothing will happen, but why am I reading all this stuff then? Can anyone point me in the direction of information about why typically happens when stopping this hormone treatment and what I can expect, please? Part of me thinks I should just stay on it and keep the coil (tho in theory this won't be working well 6 years on), but my doctor and oncologist say come off. I just don't want to be plunged into awful menopause by doing so.

Thanks for reading!