Er+ and period returns after 1 year

Daddysgirl25

Hello everyone,

My sister in law has asked me to ask a question for her since I'm the one who does all of the research for her. She is 42 yrs old, diagnosed October 2013 with Er+, Her-, Idc, stage 2, no lymph involvement, onc score 25. She had a lumpectomy, 4 rounds of chemo, 27 rads, and is now on tamoxifen. Anyway, she hadnt had her period for over a year and now it has returned. Her onc is very concerned since she is Er+. She is now talking about her having her ovaries removed or ovaries and uterus Removed. Has anyone been in this same situation? What choices were given to you and what did you choose? Thank you in advance!

New Flower

Hi

I was 46 when I had Chemo induced menopause after 1 round of Taxotere/Cytoxan . i was told by my oncologist tha our goal is to keep me into menopause. I was taking tamoxifen  and was given Zoladex shots monthly to supress my ovaries function. My period never came back. I do know others who might comment as well who has period returned and on Tamoxifen. Is your sister beening seen by gynecologist? Does her oncologist have done her estrogen level in blood? My oncologist talked with gynecologist. I decided to keep my ovaries, i know many others have removed them.It is a personal choice and tough decision and tough decision. 

Wishing you and your sister the best. 

Daddysgirl25

New Flower said:

Hi

I was 46 when I had Chemo induced menopause after 1 round of Taxotere/Cytoxan . i was told by my oncologist tha our goal is to keep me into menopause. I was taking tamoxifen  and was given Zoladex shots monthly to supress my ovaries function. My period never came back. I do know others who might comment as well who has period returned and on Tamoxifen. Is your sister beening seen by gynecologist? Does her oncologist have done her estrogen level in blood? My oncologist talked with gynecologist. I decided to keep my ovaries, i know many others have removed them.It is a personal choice and tough decision and tough decision. 

Wishing you and your sister the best. 

Thank you so much for your

Thank you so much for your reply! Actually her onc did talk about a monthly shot but said she was leaning toward removal if her period returns again this month. You were  put on zoladex immediately to ensure that your period didn't return? I'm wondering why her onc didn't do that since she kept telling us that the goal was for hers not to return as well. Yes she has a gynrcologist which she is seeing the 2nd week in January to get an internal ultrasound to check her ovaries To see if she still has eggs. she had her estrogen checked last week but not sure of the result yet and she's on a cruise for a week so I won't have a chance to speak to her until sunday to see if she got the results. She was ok with possibly having her ovaries removed but once her onc said uterus too that's a whole different ball game in terms of recovery and then side effects. She felt like she already dealt with menopause side effects and was just starting to feel normal again...

New Flower

Daddysgirl25 said:

Thank you so much for your

Thank you so much for your reply! Actually her onc did talk about a monthly shot but said she was leaning toward removal if her period returns again this month. You were  put on zoladex immediately to ensure that your period didn't return? I'm wondering why her onc didn't do that since she kept telling us that the goal was for hers not to return as well. Yes she has a gynrcologist which she is seeing the 2nd week in January to get an internal ultrasound to check her ovaries To see if she still has eggs. she had her estrogen checked last week but not sure of the result yet and she's on a cruise for a week so I won't have a chance to speak to her until sunday to see if she got the results. She was ok with possibly having her ovaries removed but once her onc said uterus too that's a whole different ball game in terms of recovery and then side effects. She felt like she already dealt with menopause side effects and was just starting to feel normal again...

i am missing that feel of normal

Everyone case is different. I had to change my first oncologist because I did think I was post menopausal. I was put on Zoladex + Arimidex by another oncologist as my ovaris were functional even my estrogen level was low. My first oncologist thought that I can go directely on Arimidex without problems, however in fact my ovaries still were like having reproductive function. i have had a very hard time going through induced menopause, i was afraid that ovary removal will add to it. if she is ok to remove ovaries and keep uterus, she can go on aromatese inhibitor Al (Arimidex, Femara, Aromosin) instead of Tamoxifen. Als have side effects and osteroporosis is one of them.  

Good luck and keep us posted on her decision.

Daddysgirl25

New Flower said:

i am missing that feel of normal

Everyone case is different. I had to change my first oncologist because I did think I was post menopausal. I was put on Zoladex + Arimidex by another oncologist as my ovaris were functional even my estrogen level was low. My first oncologist thought that I can go directely on Arimidex without problems, however in fact my ovaries still were like having reproductive function. i have had a very hard time going through induced menopause, i was afraid that ovary removal will add to it. if she is ok to remove ovaries and keep uterus, she can go on aromatese inhibitor Al (Arimidex, Femara, Aromosin) instead of Tamoxifen. Als have side effects and osteroporosis is one of them.  

Good luck and keep us posted on her decision.

i will keep you posted once

i will keep you posted once she sees her gynecologist to see if her ovaries are still functioning and if so, what the next step will be. I appreciate your help and I will have her look into zoladex +arimidex. She's not thrilled about the idea of removing her ovaries or her uterus or both so that may be a better option...

Thank you so much and Be well...