I know this is a long shot, but is there anyone whose ovaries have completely stopped because of chemo (you’d know this by an FSH blood test) and for that reason they’ve been able to take tamoxifen instead of zoladex/prostap and an AI? going forward?
Hey lovely,
Yeah mine have (I’m 43) finished chemo last July and last period was end of Jan 23.
Iv had bloods done and shown high levels. Apparently they could still come back but it’s unlikely.
Hope your ok xx
That’s interesting Sammij1980. I am the same age (born 25/12/80) I’ve never met anyone my age before with this, I dipped out of a blood test I was meant to have yesterday as I was worried that it would be more psychologically scarring if I discovered they hadn’t tried to regenerate. I’ve had no period since the third chemo cycle, and my FSH levels are always <35 (I think it was 35, as that’s lowest the machine can perform, so it could be lower) I was hoping for many reasons that they’d started to regenerate after the bloods, but I didn’t go for the test yesterday as my Oncologist had said although ovaries and cancer are not a risk for me, they generally don’t like to leave an organ in the body which isn’t working anymore.
My thinking was then; well if they’ve completely stopped, I’d have to have them out and therefore it’d be more Psychologically damaging, I’d know they’ve made me old, and he also said if they had stopped that they wouldn’t be offering me any benefit in later life such as the usual protection against osteoporosis, heart disease and/or dementias.
During my medication break, although I still have many menopausal symptoms, and tonnes of fatigue, I have felt better. if they did my bloods and told me they’d not started working again, I don’t know how I’d cope. Maybe i should have gone, if your FSH levels were high?
Hey
I’m born 19/7/80… I was diagnosed with Triple negative breast cancer Nov 22. My readings are quite high at 51.
Iv been told they could come back but tbh unless your wanting children I wouldn’t be to bothered about periods stopping - horrid things. But it does bring its only set of challenges by being forced into the menopause.
Happy to chat as we’re in a similar boat.
Go get the bloods done and know for sure. There’s plenty of help out there and natural ways to ease the symptoms of menopause xx
Hi, thanks for your reply.
I was not triple negative, I was ER+ only, in 2017 firstly, then as I had no chemo (my onco dx was 31 and it was a really tough decision), I had it again in 2021 in the lymph. I work in research for the NHS in mainly dementia care, I am more concerned about any potential later effects. My Oncologist is calling on Monday, I will ask him then if I should go the following day I think as my prostap is meant to be re-starting on Thursday.
I also want to know why I wasn’t offered prostap/zoladex before chemo as I’ve since learnt that that might have preserved the ovaries. My partner made me laugh yesterday, he said ‘…It’s like a game of Sonic the hedgehog, "Congratulations! you’ve now made it to 7 years… you’ve unlocked another level! where we tell you what you could have had!’ it’s like a game of bullseye, always new things no one told you about.
Yeah it’s nice to chat, especially given you seem so positive… you don’t hear much of that. slight_smile:
Oh no sorry to hear it returned … I dread that happening but have to think to myself all the worrying before don’t stop me getting breast cancer so I need to stop worrying and just get on and enjoy life.
I’m still having immunotherapy till August time as preventative and the. Hopefully I can move forward.
It’s a horrid journey my lovely and one we shouldn’t feel alone on ( even though we have family etc) always a message away xx
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I wouldn’t worry about that at all (though I know how that sounds), I tell people reticently about that as I know how triggering people’s stories are to me. Everyone is different, but with me there were two times exactly where there was a direct correlation between a cause and a reaction, it’s very complicated, but the correlation was with alcohol, hence I don’t drink ANYTHING anymore, alcohol changes the structure of cells in the breast and raises oestrogen levels something no one tells you pre-cancer, why would they? as you said you never think about cancer before cancer! and the main cause for recurrence following the original damage was my lack of chemotherapy, my cancer was very chemo sensitive. I coped well after a lumpectomy, a month of radio and 5 years of tamoxifen (I hadn’t stopped drinking then though as everyone told me I’d be fine as I was on Tamoxifen), it’s been the chemo, ovarian suppression and Aromatase Inhibitors which which have finished me now. I’m not who I used to be which is hard to accept, I feel my life is over and I’m 43, and most 43 year old don’t think like this, I have been to some very dark places. I never thought it would, but the concept until then of being ‘childfree’ was a little confusing for my brain once chemo had finished and there was no choice any more, and I then felt entirely damaged… To top this my Brother who never wanted children had announced ‘their pregnancy’ three months after I finished chemotherapy. I lost my animals the year I was diagnosed again, I buried my last girl my last the day before I was diagnosed and my friend who had a very rare BC died and for some reason, none of my family contacted me (particularly my young cousins) I’ve had such depression and anger issues ever since, it really is the most terrible terrible journey. I always say even if it doesn’t kill you, it does in the end one way of the other! mentally and physically. Hence why I appreciate people’s positivity about how ‘how you’ve had gold standard treatment now’ and how ‘that’ll be it now and it’ll most likely never return because of x, y and z’ because no one else will ever tell you that! particularly the Macmillian nurses. Thanks for agreeing to speak with me 
I hope I haven’t worried you as everyone is so so different, and has such different journeys too. I mean for a start, we had different cancers! I hope the rest of your treatment journey goes smoothly.
No don’t worry about upsetting me. I think we all go through the very dark times, and I am not who I was before all this either, my job that o absolutely loved doesn’t feel the same now and life is different.
But we have to get used to our new norm now and run with it.
Iv just started reading what the fuck just happened on kindle it’s written by a lady who had breast cancer …. I highly recommend giving it a read hun xx
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