Chemo may onset menopause, especially if you’re at the age of natural menopause. You may or may not see your period return after finishing chemo. Symptoms and treatments are similar to those of natural menopause.

Chemotherapy drugs may cause symptoms of menopause to happen much earlier in your life. This is referred to as chemo-induced menopause.

Also known as chemopause, chemo-induced menopause can be hard to wrap your head around. Knowing what to expect and why it happens can help.

Menopause is seen as complete when you haven’t had a period for a full year. The median age for menopause is 51 years,Trusted Source but you may experience it anytime between the ages of 45 and 56 years.

Some people may experience menopause earlier than this, which is referred to as early menopause when it occurs before the age of 45 years, and premature ovarian insufficiency before the age of 40 years.

Cancer treatment may also cause menopause to start earlier.

Chemo targets cells that grow and divide quickly. This means it kills healthy cells, like the ones your body uses to grow hair (which is why chemotherapy-induced hair loss is common).

This side effect of chemo also affects reproductive organsTrusted Source, including your ovaries, along with hormones.

Estrogen and progesterone levels, which are hormones menopause affects, in your body may become unbalanced due to how chemo affects your endocrine system.

Cell damage and hormonal imbalances from chemo may trigger menopausal symptoms and may even cause your periods to stop.

If you’re over the age of 40 years when you start chemo, your hormone levels may already be lowering. If this is the case, chemo speeds up the menopause process your body has already begun.

Symptoms of chemopause are very similar to menopause. But these symptoms may feel more severe since the drop in your hormones occurs in a very short span of time rather than gradually.

During a 2020 study, women with chemo-induced menopause experienced more hot flashes and fatigue than women whose menopause had occurred without chemotherapy.

Common signs of menopause may include:

There’s no way to know before you start your treatment how the drugs will affect your hormone levels. An oncologist may be able to give you an idea based on:

Regular menstruation may resume within 3 years after you finish chemo, research on breast cancer suggests. But this may be dependent upon the factors listed above.

But it may take longer than 3 years for some people to see their periods return. Others may never see them return.

People who have chemo and resume menstruating may experience menopause earlier than others.

If your period returns, it may be different than it was before chemo. Most of what we know about post-chemo periods is anecdotal, and more research is needed to understand if and how cycles change when they return.

Preserving fertility before chemopause

If you want to have children after chemo, talk with an oncologist about a fertility plan that’s right for you before your treatment.

Some people choose to take medications that pause their period before chemo starts. The goal of this is to protect your ovaries and minimize damage to your eggs. Other people opt to freeze their eggs before they begin cancer treatment.

Managing chemopause is similar to managing menopause, with some important differences.

Certain hormone therapies (HT) and mood stabilizers may not be recommended during chemo and remission from cancer.

Your doctor will have recommendations about how to treat symptoms of menopause while you undergo and complete your cancer treatment.

Lifestyle modifications

If your symptoms are mild to moderate, you may be able to treat them with lifestyle modifications.

This may include avoiding triggers like alcohol and spicy food, using a fan in your bedroom, and lowering the temperature in your home to reduce hot flashes.

Maintaining a moderate weight and regularly participating in weight-bearing and aerobic exercise can help you manage your mental and physical health.

Nutritional supplements

Supplements may help offset hormone disruption from chemo.

You may want to try a low dose of vitamin E to see if it helps reduce night sweats and hot flashes.

Vitamin D, along with a calcium supplement, may help protect your bones from osteoporosis, which is more common after menopause. Note that it’s generally recommended to get nutrients from your diet before supplementing.

Some people claim black cohosh and dong quai may reduce symptoms, but there’s currently little evidence to show they’re effective.

Before trying supplements

Dietary supplements and chemo medications may interact. Speak with a doctor about any supplements you’re considering before taking them.

Complementary therapies

Acupuncture is popular for treating hot flashes and insomnia. Gentle yoga is another option that may offer some relief.

Hormone therapies

Some people opt for HT to try to manage the effects of menopause.

People who have had any estrogen-sensitive cancer are often advised not to take these kinds of drugs, as they may increase the chances of your cancer coming back.

Some HT are available as topicals, which your body doesn’t systemically absorb. These may be safe in some clinical scenarios.

Other nonhormonal medications

You have a wide variety of nonhormonal medication choices.

An anticonvulsant medication called gabapentin has been used to help treat menopause-related hot flashes. SSRIs and SNRIs have been used with success to help with:

  • hot flashes
  • irritability
  • depression
  • mood changes

Chemo-induced menopause is common if you’re receiving chemotherapy. It can be temporary, but it’s difficult to predict whether or not your period will come back after your treatment is complete.

You may also experience more severe menopause symptoms as your body adjusts to a major hormonal change on top of coping with the effects of the chemo.

Your oncologist and cancer treatment team will help you prepare you for the side effects of chemo. You may also want to speak with your doctors about natural therapies and medications.

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