Tamoxifen with ovarian suppression

Going through breast cancer treatment Hormone therapy
1

Hi all, not sure if I’ve selected a good title here, so let me explain.

Had a SMX, then chemo which finished in Oct 2023. Started Tamoxifen a month later. My periods had stopped by the end of chemo, and although I was told they’d come back, I was pleased they didn’t.

In the last couple of months it looks like my periods are returning. As my cancer was ER+P+ I know ovarian suppression/removal will be the next step. I’m really not keen on surgical removal, so I wondered how others have found the alternate options?

I feel I’m tolerating the Tamoxifen ok, and my bone density wasn’t great when it was last tested, so I’m rather nervous of what will be suggested. This has also hit me quite hard as I feel I’ve been settling back into a new normal, and getting on with life, and this has made me start thinking about cancer and treatments and side effects again. So any advice or reassurance would be appreciated.

1 Like
2

Whether you have ovarian suppression is usually a decision made on the basis of how high risk your breast cancer was of returning. Presently, it looks like you were probably not that high risk, otherwise they would have already had you on it by now. Not everyone who is premenopausal has suppression, so one doesn’t necessarily follow the other. So having periods return isnt necessarily a reason to start having them surpressed. However, discuss this with your BCN for a clearer picture in your case. It is expectetd that people on tamoxifen only will continue to have periods, as its not taken with an aim to prevent them.

1 Like