This Menopause Awareness Month, Boots and Macmillan Cancer Support are raising awareness of early menopause caused by cancer treatment, shining a light on the experience of those impacted and the support available through their partnership. This blog will share some support information and personal experiences of those from our Online Community.
New analysis from Macmillan Cancer Support reveals that an estimated 60,000 women with cancer under 50 in the UK are struggling with hormone-related side-effects of cancer treatment such as early menopause[1].
“I finished treatment a year ago. Started menopause at 33 had a radical hysterectomy followed by chemo, radiotherapy and brachytherapy. I am on oestrogen pessary and patches. Any advice would be much appreciated.”
‘HRT after cancer treatment’ discussion thread, Cervical cancer forum
“I had hormonal breast cancer this brought me into the early menopause and lately I’m feeling pain all over my body I’m taking exemestane also on abemaciclib two I finish that next may. Has anyone been feeling any symptoms after they finish the endocrine treatment? My symptoms are body aches all over in my joints fatigue sleeping problems nasty dreams crying over silly things wanting sweet food chocolates x”
‘Menopause’ discussion thread, Breast cancer forum
Earlier this month, Boots and Macmillan hosted a panel event in London to shine a light on early menopause caused by cancer treatment. The event brought together public figures like author and journalist, Rosamund Dean, and paralympic rowing cox, Erin Kennedy to share their personal stories to an audience of 100 people affected by menopause and cancer. With the help of Dr. Hannah Tharmalingam, National Clinical Advisor at Macmillan, and Bina Mehta, a Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacist, the conversation was both honest and educational. The emotion in the room on the day clearly demonstrated the need for this conversation.
Boots has over 600 Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisors (BMBAs) in its stores who can offer beauty advice and tips to anyone going through or recovering from cancer treatment. Read '"...putting on make-up and knowing I look good gives me a boost..." - Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisors blog
Boots also has a network of over 2,500 Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists (BMIP’s) in stores across the UK. BMIPs are specially trained to advise people going through cancer treatment with both advice and emotional support. In collaboration with Macmillan, Boots has launched an information hub dedicated to early menopause advice and support on the Boots Health Hub.
To find your nearest Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacist:
Keep an eye on Boots and Macmillan’s social media channels for more stories of menopause and cancer, and to hear more about ways to seek support for managing symptoms. You can also find further information on the Macmillan website.
We’ve set up a ‘Talking about early menopause’ discussion thread in our Cancer chat forum to provide a dedicated place for you to talk about your personal experiences and help connect you with others in a similar situation. We hope by reading and joining in the conversation, it will help you feel less alone.
Click here to find the discussion thread and the reply button will be underneath the post.
You are always welcome to start a new discussion about a specific topic or if you want to introduce yourself and share what has brought you to join the forum. Start a discussion by clicking the ‘+create a post’ or ‘+’ button near the group title.
Read our Help Pages to find out more and join our different cancer type forums today
Ongoing conversations in our cancer forums, click the discussion links to join in the conversations:
“During chemo I had monthly injections to shut down my ovaries in order to try to protect them from chemo which put me into a temporary menopause. At the beginning of next year I will have a full fertility check at the hospital, so for now I'm sorry but I don't have an answer to your question. I have a friend who had bc when she was 23 and she went on to have two children naturally, so it can be possible, but each case is different.
It's hard to suddenly have to make a decision so quickly on something you know nothing about but could affect the rest of your life. I hope you manage to do whatever feels the right choice for you and wish you the best of luck with everything xxx”
‘Grade 1 Breast cancer and fertility’ discussion thread, Breast cancer for the under 50’s forum
“since my operation I have had night sweats I am absolutely soaked in the morning… another issue is feeling warm sometimes during the day. Difficulty sleeping sometimes I can't sleep at all or I can sleep nearly a full 24hrs. My mood is up and down like a bloody jack in the box and at times I feel anxious but I don't know why my main worry is regarding my recent problem with memory and concentration at the moment I just can't seem to hold onto something I have been told say a couple days before or getting the bloody days mixed up.
Does anyone think due to my large doses of progesterone 5 tablets 3 times a day and the progesterone coil in I am having menopausal type symptoms because I was taken off the progesterone the next day after my operation, I have reframed from doctor Google but also do not want to contact the GP Surgery over such a little matter, any ideas are welcome as usual and always invaluable to me.”
‘Night sweating, headaches & tiredness’ discussion thread, Womb (uterus) cancer forum
To find out more about the support available, visit the Menopause awareness month information page on the Macmillan website.
Call the Macmillan Support Line to speak to our specialist teams of Nurses and Cancer Support Advisers on 0808 808 00 00 from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. There is the option to send an email or use live webchat or post questions in our Ask an Expert section on the Community.
Here are a few related Community News blogs that may be helpful for you to read:
[1] Figure estimated using Macmillan/YouGov survey of people with cancer (June 2024) combined with Macmillan analysis of UK prevalence data. Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,078 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis, including 115 women under 50 who were diagnosed within the past 20 years. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th and 30th June 2024. Among women under 50 diagnosed within the past 20 years, 37% had serious concerns (levels 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale) for ‘Hormone-related issues (e.g. hot flushes, excess sweating, early menopause, etc.). 60,000 figure estimated by applying the 37% to an estimate of the total number of women under 50 with cancer in the UK who were diagnosed within the past 20 years (166,300 women). This estimate is based on statistics for observed cancer prevalence published by NHS England, Public Health Scotland, N. Ireland Cancer Registry and provided to Macmillan Cancer Support by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit.
