Out with the Ovaries

 Updated 7/21/15
The other day there was a discussion in a Facebook group I belong to about what happens when a women has her ovaries removed ( oopherectomy) prophylactically.  I thought to myself - prophylactically or due to surgery / chemotherapy -  the effects are the same.

I know which side effects I experienced when I  had my ovaries (along with other organs) removed due to ovarian cancer. Even if your ovaries are not surgically removed, they may be damaged due to chemotherapy which can cause menopause and infertility. 

What can happen? Symptoms you may experience when your ovaries are removed include:

• hot flashes / night sweats
• vaginal dryness
• decreased sex drive
• skin changes
• sleep disruptions
• urinary symptoms
• bone loss (osteopenia/ ) osteoporosis
• fatigue
• weight gain 
• trouble focusing
• increased risk for heart disease

So how do we deal with these side effects?

There are various ways to help with the symptoms of menopause including hormonal therapies, non-hormonal therapies, complimentary therapies and bioidentical hormones (FDA statement on bio-identicals) .  Be sure to ask your doctor which therapy is acceptable for you to use if you are in treatment or at risk for breast cancer / ovarian cancer.

Some helpful resources include:

This American Cancer Society article on menopause and cancer risk is a good place to turn for information on options you can talk to your doctor about. (http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/medicaltreatments/menopausal-hormone-replacement-therapy-and-cancer-risk. )

The NCI has a brochure Health Care Maintenance for Women Undergoing Risk-Reducing Ovarian Surgery ( GOG 0199) as well as  a number of online resources on dealing with the side effects of premature menopause. The resources may be found at
http://ovariancancer.gog199.cancer.gov/premature.html

You may also find the Menopause Guidebook from the the North American Menopause Society) helpful. Download it at http://www.menopause.org/publications/consumer-publications/-em-menopause-guidebook-em-7th-edition

Another good source of information is the US National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus site on Menopause . http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/menopause.html#cat77

Many of the pre-menopausal women diagnosed with ovarian cancer I have spoken to have gotten limited information on dealing with the side effects of menopause.  It is important that valuable resources like those listed above are part of the conversation that women have with their health care provider when their ovaries are removed prohylactically or due to a cancer diagnosis.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

Natural Ways to Deal with Menopause and Hot Flashes Caused by Surgery for Ovarian Cancer - Guest Post by SHARE

I am pleased to provide my readers with this guest post by SHARE Cancer Support, a non-profit dedicated to providing support for those suffering from breast cancer or ovarian cancer.

Natural Ways to Deal with Menopause and Hot Flashes Caused by Surgery for Ovarian Cancer

There are many changes a woman’s body goes through during menopause; however, for those women who have just had surgery to treat ovarian cancer, the effects of instant menopause can be exacerbated. The most bothersome effect for many women is the onset of hot flashes. There are many treatments women can try to find some relief, and following are some of the most effective natural ones:

Keeping Cool

Exposure to cold can help relieve a hot flash – sipping cold beverages and maintaining a cool environment. Dressing in layers can help women shed clothing quickly to deal with temperature changes; this also applies to layering sheets and blankets at bedtime. Sleeping in the nude also helps women dealing with the hot flashes of menopause by dissipating the heat of night sweats. Using cooling pillows, fans and gel cooling packs can also help considerably.

Acupuncture

As a part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been practiced for over 4,000 years, and is based on the idea that vital energy flows through the body along 20 pathways, or meridians. When a pathway is blocked, the body is thrown off balance. The goal of acupuncture is to remove blockages.

Many women have found relief from hot flashes with acupuncture, and many believe it can provide patients with significant relief from the side effects of cancer and treatment. Hot flashes are reported by many to decrease in frequency and in strength. One study among women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer showed that acupuncture had the equivalent effects of venlafaxine, an anti-depressant, and the effects of acupuncture lasted longer than those of the drug.

Change Your Diet

Many women find that dietary changes can help relieve hot flashes by limiting or avoiding foods that trigger them. Certain foods that can trigger hot flashes include caffeine, spicy foods, chocolate, and alcohol. Women can also try eating more plant-based foods that contain phytoestrogens to reduce hot flashes; these phytoestrogens resemble estrogen and are found in nuts, soy products, legumes, and oil seeds. While some women reported a decrease in the severity of hot flashes, some reported that the number of hot flashes did not decrease.

Managing Stress

Effectively managing and relieving stress can also be an effective way to deal with the hot flashes of menopause caused by surgery for ovarian cancer. Deep, paced breathing can reduce the frequency of hot flashes by 50%. Breath should come from deep inside the abdomen, at about six deep breaths per minute.

We’ve all heard of the “fight or flight” response – the term “relaxation response” is used to describe the opposite of the “fight or flight” response, and is characterized by a slower heart rate and measured breathing. Meditation, getting into a comfortable, relaxed position in a quiet room, and paced breathing are all effective at invoking this relaxation response, effectively decreasing the intensity and severity of hot flashes.

It’s important to keep in mind that just as every woman is unique, so too are her experiences with the methods used for coping with the symptoms of instant menopause after surgery for ovarian cancer. Your health care providers, your friends and family, support groups, and other support systems are excellent resources for learning more about the possibilities various treatments might be able to provide for you.

 
Thank you SHARE for these helpful tips! 
(Dee's Note: Please be sure to check with  your doctor before adding phytoestrogens / soy  to your diet.)


Dee 
Every Day is a Blessing!  

OC Awareness #20- Estrogen during Menopause and OC

I receive weekly e-mails from OncologyStat which provides abstracts from oncology journals.

Today there was a summary of an article from the August 28, 2012 British Journal of Cancer ( log-in required for the full article)  titled

Ovarian cancer and menopausal hormone therapy in the NIH-AARP diet and health study

The study evaluated the use of estrogen by 92,601 post-menopausal women enrolled in the the National Institutes of Health -AARP Diet and Health Study and the incidence of ovarian cancer ( 426) . The Study concluded that long term  ( 10+ year) use of unopposed estorgen and oestrogen plus progestins was associated with increased risk of oarian cancer.


Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!