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Surgical/early menopause

Sunflowergirl123
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Hi,

I'm looking for some information/guidance on surgical menopause and the impact of it on long term health.

I have recently been diagnosed with granulosa cell cancer of the ovary. One of the treatment options is total hysterectomy, which would obviously put my into surgical menopause. I am 32. Because the cancer is oestrogen receptive I've been advised I would not be able to have HRT.

I know that early menopause can put you at risk of health conditions down the line, but struggling to find any information about the level of risk, anything that can be done to mitigate risk and also the alternatives to HRT. 

Would appreciate any information about long term health effects and how to manage, and also any advice in managing the initial menopause symptoms without HRT.

Many thanks 

Sunflowergirl 

  • Hello Sunflower Girl, and thank you for posting.

    I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and can understand you wanting to feel informed about your future health when making decisions about treatment for your cancer.

    I would suggest you discuss this with your specialist nurse (CNS) and your doctor, and it may be that they can also refer you to a menopause specialist too. Oestrogen is used throughout a woman's body, so early menopause can affect many things, but long-term side effects on your bone and heart health will need to be considered and supported.

    There are many resources available online about surgical menopause like this from the Target Ovarian Cancer Charity, and this booklet which was created by Ovacome, another UK ovarian cancer charity.

    There is information on dealing with menopausal symptoms when you have had cancer treatment on our website and there is helpful support about HRT alternatives here from the support network Menopause Matters and this from the NHS pages.

    It may also be helpful to move this post to the 'moving on' or 'living with cancer' sections of the forum, to hear from others who may have been through similar.

    Take care Sunflowergirl and if you want to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Sarah.

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Sarah

    HI Sarah,

    Thank you so much for all of this information, it's really helpful. I am going to talk to my CNS nurse this week too :)

    I'll copy the post onto the other pages as you suggest as it'd be great to hear about other people's experiences. 

    Thank you

    Sunflowergirl x

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