Menopause ‘worse’ in cancer survivors
Cancer survivors are reportedly twice as likely to experience severe menopausal symptoms compared to women who have not had cancer, a new study has found.
Cancer survivors are reportedly twice as likely to experience severe menopausal symptoms compared to women who have not had cancer, a new study has found.
The study is led by the University of Melbourne and the Royal Women’s Hospital Melbourne, with the King Edward Memorial Hospital and the University of Western Australia.
Lead author, Dr Jennifer Marino, of the University of Melbourne, claims the study reveals cancer survivors experience more severe and frequent menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes and night sweats.
Almost 1,000 cancer survivors (mostly breast cancer) and 155 non-cancer patients aged 40 to 60 years, who attended the Menopause Symptoms After Cancer Clinic at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Western Australia, were surveyed.
Cancer survivors had twice as many hot flushes (six compared with three in 24 hours) and were twice as likely to report severe or very severe flushes as non-cancer patients. More than 200 cancer survivors reported experiencing more than 10 flushes a day.
Interestingly, the mental health of cancer survivors appeared to be better than the non-cancer patients.
