Hi everyone, I am newly diagnosed with grade 1 oestrogen and progesterone receptive invasive ductal carcinoma. It is a world wind of a diagnosis to get your head round! I’m premenopausal, and hormone therapy petrifies me, not because of the menopause symptoms as such, but the other unpleasant side affects and risks. If anyone is experiencing the same concerns or going through similar treatments, or have chosen not to have hormone therapy I would love to hear from you. Sending much love and support to everyone x
Hi
You’re right. You’ve just, unwillingly, been forced onto an unknown rollercoaster and it stirs up emotions and thoughts you’d never have had to face before. I’m so sorry you’re here. I just wanted to say that, with all due respect to the people who post on here, there are many women with breast cancer who don’t visit the forums. These are the ones who aren’t particularly bothered by side effects. My mum had breast cancer twice. The first time, she only told my dad and me and that was that; the second, 20 years later, she mentioned hormone therapy after radiotherapy and I heard no more about it (this was after I’d had my ear bent daily about her horrendous menopause!). Me, I was flattened by chemo, in contrast! So you don’t always get a balanced picture - we are here because we are in need of support. You don’t hear from the many who don’t.
Yes, hormone therapy can cause unpleasant side effects - but not for everyone. So my advice is (apart from staying off Google) to wait and see, know that unpleasant side effects can ease after a month or so and, if they don’t, there are alternatives. There is a lot of coverage about the menopause right now and rightly so. But I sailed though with a few hot flushes and relief that I’d never have to experience the horrendous menstrual cycle I’d had. I didn’t want or need HRT. That kind of experience gets no coverage. Who’s to say what your menopause would have been like? Who’s to say what side effects you’ll suffer? I can get side effects just walking past a pharmacy but the worst I had with HT (I was post-menopausal) was joint pain, I thought that a small price to pay for getting rid of breast cancer.
You are Stage 1 so you have a choice many of us are denied. Statistically, your chance of no recurrence is over 90% but I still would say, unless you have strong medical contra-indications such as a heart problem, don’t be deterred by the risks. Trust your oncology team who will have considered your unique breast cancer and determined the best treatment plan. They know their stuff. Wishing you all the best, whatever you decide xx