{"entity":{"id":"menopause-after-chemotherapy-breast","kind":"term","name":"Menopause symptoms after chemotherapy for breast cancer","aka":["chemotherapy-induced menopause","treatment-induced menopause"],"tldr":"Chemotherapy can stop the ovaries working, temporarily or for good; hot flushes, sweats, poor sleep, low mood and vaginal dryness follow, and because HRT is not routinely offered after breast cancer the usual answers are non-hormonal medicines, vaginal moisturisers, CBT and lifestyle changes.","summary":"Cancer Research UK says chemotherapy-induced menopause may be temporary or permanent, that periods are less likely to return the closer you are to the natural age of menopause, and that doctors do not routinely recommend HRT after breast cancer because of an uncertain effect on recurrence, though it may be offered for severe symptoms after discussing the risks. NICE NG101 says offer information and counselling about the possibility of early menopause, do not routinely offer HRT to women with a history of breast cancer (in exceptional circumstances offer it for severe symptoms after discussing the risks), consider an SSRI for hot flushes, and do not offer soy, red clover, black cohosh, vitamin E or magnetic devices. Triple-negative disease has no endocrine therapy, so the symptoms come from the chemotherapy alone. This is orientation from public patient pages and guidelines, not advice for your case: your own team's instructions and 24-hour number come first.","asOf":"2026-09-24","links":[{"label":"Cancer Research UK: menopausal symptoms and breast cancer","url":"https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/breast-cancer/living-with/menopausal-symptoms"},{"label":"NICE NG101: early and locally advanced breast cancer, recommendations (updated 2025)","url":"https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng101/chapter/Recommendations"},{"label":"NHS: menopause, symptoms","url":"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause-and-perimenopause/symptoms/"},{"label":"NHS: menopause and perimenopause, symptoms","url":"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause-and-perimenopause/symptoms/"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["tnbc","breast-cancer"],"sections":["rejuvenation"],"technologies":["cbt-fatigue-distress","hypnosis-cancer-care","acupuncture-hot-flushes"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":["Whichever receptor result comes back, NICE NG101 (1.14.20) says to offer women information and counselling about the possibility of early menopause and menopausal symptoms associated with breast cancer treatment, and (1.14.21) to stop systemic HRT in women who are diagnosed with breast cancer.","Bone health follows the menopause. NICE NG101 (1.14.26) says to offer a baseline DEXA scan to women with invasive breast cancer who are not receiving adjuvant bisphosphonates and who are starting an aromatase inhibitor, have treatment-induced menopause, or are starting ovarian ablation or suppression; (1.14.27) not to offer a DEXA scan to people receiving tamoxifen alone; and (1.14.28) to offer bisphosphonates to women identified by the UK expert group algorithms on treatment-induced bone loss."],"category":"Side effects","wikipediaChecked":"2026-09-25"},"route":"/terms/menopause-after-chemotherapy-breast/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"breast-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Breast cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/breast-cancer/"},{"id":"tnbc","kind":"cancer","name":"Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)","route":"/cancers/tnbc/"}],"section":[{"id":"rejuvenation","kind":"section","name":"Recovery & Rejuvenation","route":"/fronts/rejuvenation/"}],"technology":[{"id":"acupuncture-hot-flushes","kind":"technology","name":"Acupuncture for hot flushes on endocrine therapy","route":"/technologies/acupuncture-hot-flushes/"},{"id":"hypnosis-cancer-care","kind":"technology","name":"Clinical hypnosis for procedures, pain and hot flushes","route":"/technologies/hypnosis-cancer-care/"},{"id":"cbt-fatigue-distress","kind":"technology","name":"Cognitive behavioural therapy for fatigue and distress","route":"/technologies/cbt-fatigue-distress/"},{"id":"menopause-after-cancer-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Menopause brought on by cancer treatment, and the options for it","route":"/technologies/menopause-after-cancer-treatment/"},{"id":"ovarian-function-after-chemotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Ovarian function after chemotherapy: who recovers, and when","route":"/technologies/ovarian-function-after-chemotherapy/"},{"id":"vaginal-oestrogen-after-breast-cancer","kind":"technology","name":"Vaginal oestrogen after breast cancer: what the evidence says, and where it disagrees","route":"/technologies/vaginal-oestrogen-after-breast-cancer/"}]}}