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[Commet12]

Hi

Can anyone help at all.  I had a lumpectomy in 2019 for DCIS oestrogen receptive breast cancer.  Thankfully I didnt require any other treatment.  However since then my menopause has started and my symptoms just awful.  I have insomnia, anxiety, palpitations, hot flushes, dry mouth, itchy body, the list seems endless.  My oncologist and docs wont give me HRT due to the oestrogen receptive breast cancer I have had, nor am I allowed to take any products with Soy.  Is anyone else in this situation or does anyone know of any medication which is none of these things but which can sort out some or all of my menopause symptoms?

[CLKD]

Oncologists tend to err on the side of caution.  There is a Surgeon however, I think US based - I'll try to fish out the details off here .

Quality of Life is important.  That bus might creep up behind long B4 HRT might trigger BC.  MayB keep a diary of mood/symptoms/food to chart progress?

Anxiety can initially be tempered with appropriate medication, regardless of whether it's hormone triggered or not.  Getting anxiety under control has 4me, been a Life saver.  I can't think when anxiety takes over  .  I can't eat, sleep etc..

Itchyness is due to a drop of oestrogen when the body may become dry.  A good moisturiser is important for the skin.  Do read the threads on vaginal atrophy and bladder issues - these can/must be treated with appropriate medications regardless of cancer histories. 

I had similar treatment to yours.  Had I been bothered with symptoms I would have jumped up and down for HRT!  Some anti-depressant medications can ease flushing but that can be Trial and Error to find one that helps.

[CLKD]

I have bounced two threads which mentions the Surgeons name.

This is a quote from one thread:

Dr Bluming is one of the top American oncologists, so because of the American medical system he does get paid by his patients obviously. However he has never been sponsored by 'big pharma' and he conducted a 12 year study (out of his own pocket) into whether breast cancer survivors on HRT have an increased risk of reoccurance. They didn't. He also cites 20 other similar studies that have been conducted world wide since 1992. Not one of them found an increased risk of reoccurance - and they used randomised, blind control groups. Or did in depth retrospective studies. All said no increased risk.

The only study that said otherwise was HABITS. Probably because out of the 348 women they recruited they didn't bother to screen a single one to see if they already had any pre existing cancer cells!! Which considering 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer, was incredibly stupid and negligent!

Dr Bluming really put his money where his mouth is - both his wife and daughter have had BC, and they are both on HRT.

It's a truly enlightening book if you want to look beyond the traditional dogma surrounding HRT.

GPs aren't saints. They are very much aware of who holds the purse strings - I had a real battle to be prescribed estrogel rather than oestrodose, purely because estrogel is slightly more expensive. My GP insisted they were identical products. I knew they weren't because oestrodose gave me a rash. I did my research and it turned out that while they had identical active ingredients, the carrier gel was slightly different. My GP grumpily agreed to specify estrogel on my prescription...

[Devon51]

Hello this is my first post but I've taken lots of good advice and info from all the knowledge here.
I had breast cancer 14 years ago, had chemo and mastectomy and my tumour was also oestrogen as well as progesterone positive. My menopausal.symproms got pretty bad and I had always thought HRT was a no no for me. But after reading around a bit, it seems not.
I have a very supportive oncologist. My understanding is that the HRT may mean any recurrence that was lurking could happen sooner but it wouldn't bring about a recurrence I wouldn't have had anyway. So i weighed it all up and decided that I'd rather have better quality of life, mood and energy. And if I did have a recurrence that improved mood and energy would help me to get through it.
It's a tough decision and takes some thought. I hope this helps to open up some conversation with your oncologist for you. It might be that there are other factors specific to you to add into the equation.
Good luck.

[CLKD]

   Devon51.  Browse round.