40% of Kent women under 40 enter permanent menopause as a result of cancer treatment
Penny Giles-McLoughlin from Medway is one of thousands of cancer survivors who aren't allowed to go on hormone replacement therapy to manage symptoms
Shocking new stats reveal 70-90% of women over 40 in Kent enter permanent menopause as a result of cancer treatment.
The research done by the non-profit organisation, Menopause and Cancer, reveals affected women describe a menopause that can arrive overnight, hit harder and last longer than the natural transition.
Penny Giles-McLoughlin from Medway was prescribed a drug called Tamoxifen after finishing her treatment for hormone positive breast cancer, to reduce the chances of her breast cancer returning.
On it, she tells us she "entered" the menopause and it made her feel "absolutely dreadful" to the point she wanted to take her own life:
"The oncologist said the side affects would start to settle but at that point I didn't think I'd be around in six months because I thought I'd end my life, that's how bad I felt.
"I was sobbing all day everyday, I couldn't even speak to my children I was crying so much, I couldn't work.
"I had to decide between feeling suicidal everyday or the cancer potentially coming back. And I just was not sure what to do."
Penny decided to come off the drug and is now suffering from a more "natural" menopause.
But because of her cancer treatment, and for thousands of others with breast cancer, she is not allowed to go on the most common menopause treatment, HRT.
"Now I have to navigate menopause without the main treatment option and that is very difficult.
"Some of the impacts of menopause we don't have any alternative treatments for, so you're left managing those by yourself."
Penny found Menopause and Cancer and joined thousands of women calling for better alternatives, NHS plans, and support for treatment-induced menopause.
Menopause and Cancer say "many women tell us the symptoms of treatment-induced menopause are, in their words, worse than the cancer treatment itself."
It adds, "for those who had to stop HRT or non-hormonal therapies, accessing expert advice on safe routes back to treatment after recovery is described as 'almost impossible'”.
The non-profit's data reveals more than nine in ten women receive no plan to manage menopause-related changes after treatment, only 1% recall clear guidance.
99% of women with cancer treatment-induced menopause believe better support is urgently needed.
Founder of Menopause and Cancer, Dani Binnington, who experienced sudden surgical menopause in her own cancer journey, is calling for menopause care to be built into the oncology pathway from first conversation.
“When cancer and menopause collide, women are met with silence and a total lack of care,” she says.
"We have to train clinicians so oncologists, GPs and menopause specialists work together rather than leaving patients stranded between systems."
For more information and support, please visit the menopause and cancer website.