Coping with early menopause after radical hysterectomy and radiotherapy

My wife underwent a radical hysterectomy due to cervical cancer, with the left ovary repositioned higher on the left muscle in line with the belly button to protect it from the radiation therapy she underwent, which was delayed and finished exactly 6 months ago.

A month after the radiation, she started experiencing signs of early menopause, especially insomnia and waking up every half hour, which persist and have become increasingly severe. It's impossible for her to function properly and return to normal life, to concentrate on work and study.

Unfortunately, her doctor is unsure if the cancer she had was estrogen-dependent, but hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is not permitted.

After researching online, I found out that there are some herbal supplements that can alleviate these symptoms.

Has anyone else experienced this, and how did they manage to solve it?

Are herbal supplements containing extracts of chaste tree, wild yam, hops, black cohosh, angelica, and ginseng, or those based on red clover, sage, hops, valerian, or lemon balm allowed and recommended?

If anyone has used any of these herbal supplements or any other, which one did they use?

Thank you.

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  • Hi Shy27,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm sorry to hear that your wife is experiencing these signs of early menopause and the insomnia is preventing her from functioning properly -  it's hard indeed to concentrate on work or on anything really when suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation. 

    We have some information on our website on menopausal symptoms and cancer treatment, which may be helpful to you and which looks at the effects of early menopause due to cancer treatment. The menopause charity also has a lot of information about alternatives to HRT. 

    Regarding the use of herbal supplements to relieve menopause symptoms, I thought  I would mention that the NHS website gives information about herbal and complementary therapies . It would be a good idea to discuss any of this with your wife's doctor, particularly if you/she are thinking of going ahead with anything just to get their medical expertise on what might work best for your wife. Do talk to her doctor too about her insomnia and how it is currently affecting her as they might have some suggestions which might help. 

    Best wishes,

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Reply
  • Hi Shy27,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm sorry to hear that your wife is experiencing these signs of early menopause and the insomnia is preventing her from functioning properly -  it's hard indeed to concentrate on work or on anything really when suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation. 

    We have some information on our website on menopausal symptoms and cancer treatment, which may be helpful to you and which looks at the effects of early menopause due to cancer treatment. The menopause charity also has a lot of information about alternatives to HRT. 

    Regarding the use of herbal supplements to relieve menopause symptoms, I thought  I would mention that the NHS website gives information about herbal and complementary therapies . It would be a good idea to discuss any of this with your wife's doctor, particularly if you/she are thinking of going ahead with anything just to get their medical expertise on what might work best for your wife. Do talk to her doctor too about her insomnia and how it is currently affecting her as they might have some suggestions which might help. 

    Best wishes,

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

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