Finishing Tamoxofen
Hi everyone.
I completed 10 years of Tamoxifen in November 2020. My periods had stopped in March 2020 and had been irregular for the past 3 years with breaks between periods of up to 3 months sometimes. They originally had stopped during chemo but returned after I finished treatment and I always had periods whilst on tamoxifen and the oncologist wasn't worried. My oncologist had told me I was in Menopause when they had stopped altogether and was surprised I lasted so long without entering menopause as I was 36 on diagnosis. I finished with my oncologist in November after 11 years. But in December my periods returned and are regular every month since. I am just wondering if my breast cancer was Oestrogen positive and I have no tamoxifen to help with levels is it dangerous to have periods. I had a left side mastectomy but still have my right breast. Would love some advice as I cannot call my oncologist anymore.
Hi Cheshire,
Thank you for posting and I am sorry to read about your diagnosis. I hope you have been keeping well in the time since your initial diagnosis.
When you had your biopsy done, your consultant would have known from these results that the cancer was hormone sensitive. Generally, your periods will start again once you stop taking tamoxifen, as long as you have not gone through the menopause naturally while taking the drug. It may be worthwhile to speak with your GP about what is happening for you.
It is common to feel worried when stopping hormonal treatment, many women do feel the same. We know that the further that you are away from your initial diagnosis that the risk of reoccurrence lessens and that taking a hormonal treatment for 10 years after initial treatment has shown to considerably reduce the risk of reoccurrence.
Although you are no longer with your oncologist, I wonder could you ring the breast care nurse in your treatment centre to discuss? Your GP may also be be able to provide advice about this..
I have attached links below to general information that you may find helpful. Please don’t hesitate to call our support line to speak with a cancer nurse for any advice.
https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/facing-breast-cancer/going-through-treatment-breast-cancer/hormone-therapy/tamoxifen#how%20long
https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal/serms/tamoxifen
Kind regards,
Cancer nurse