Hi cazbro73
Thank you for post asking whether you should be taking sage (salvia) to help manage the hot flushes you are experiencing.
Many people ask about vitamin and herb supplements, such as sage, as they want to do as much as possible to be healthy, help with the side effects of treatment and alleviate menopausal symptoms. There is often the belief that vitamins and herbs are safe as they are considered natural.
For many products there is a lack of research to support their use, and some can interfere with conventional medicines including cancer treatments.
You can search this American website, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, for information about individual herbs like sage and vitamins. Each has sections on existing evidence and what known interaction there is with other medications. You may find that that some herbs have different names in America. You can also search herbal products and supplements on the European website Complementary and Alternative Medicine for cancer and on the American website Medicine Plus
You mentioned that you had seen information online suggesting you shouldn’t be using sage and the safety of supplements containing phytoestrogens is yet to be established, so do speak to your breast care nurse or treatment team, before taking any supplements.
Hot flushes are the most commonly reported menopausal symptom due to breast cancer treatment and many women contact us describing the difficulties they are experiencing with them. The frequency and severity of them vary from person to person. For most women they will fade over time and become less severe, but for some they may continue to experience hot flushes which can really affect their quality of life. You can find tips for helping you deal with hot flushes and details of available treatments and complementary therapies which may help by following the links above.
You can speak with your breast care nurse or treatment team to discuss possible options for managing hot flushes. Your GP may also be able to help. You may want to ask about a referral to specialist menopause clinic where you can get further advice and information about coping with menopausal symptoms.
Talking to someone who has had a similar experience can often be helpful. Our Someone Like Me service can match you with a trained volunteer who’s had a similar experience to you. You can be in touch with your volunteer by phone or email and they can share their personal experiences to answer your questions, offer support or simply listen to how you are feeling.
You can ring the Someone Like Me team on 0800 138 6551 or email them at someone.likeme@breastcancernow.org, so they can then match you to your volunteer.
Do call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen, talk things through and signpost you to more support and information if necessary. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks. The number is 0808 800 6000, If you have hearing or speech difficulties prefix our number with 18001 and the call will go through Relay UK. Our helpline has access to telephone interpreters if language translation is required.
If you would prefer one of our nurses to call you. To do this please complete this form ticking the box agreeing to a call back.
Our usual opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm and 9am -1pm on Saturday.
Out of hours you can leave a message and we will call you back when we next open.
Best wishes
Helen
Breast Care Nurse
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