Olivia Munn is in medically induced menopause as a result of treatment to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer, the actress tells PEOPLE in an exclusive new interview. Munn, who last month revealed she had undergone a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with luminal B, told the magazine that treatment for the aggressive form of breast cancer included four surgeries in just 10 months and now treatment of hormonal suppression. which triggered menopausal symptoms. “I’m constantly thinking it’s hot, my hair is thinning, and I’m really tired,” she told People. So what does it mean to be in medically induced menopause? Here’s what you should know.
What is drug-induced menopause and what treatments cause it?
Menopause occurs when the ovaries’ production of two sex hormones — estrogen and progesterone — slows and eventually stops as a result of the normal aging process, usually starting between ages 45 and 55, according to the study. National Institute on Aging. As these hormones decrease, periods become irregular and eventually stop completely, and a series of other physiological changes are triggered.
Some medical treatments can cause people to go into menopause early. Drug-induced menopause can be triggered by several different types of treatments for breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer or, less commonly, for endometriosis. According to BreastCancer.orgthese include:
-
Surgical removal of the ovaries, uterus, or both to treat or prevent cancer and, in some cases, endometriosis
-
Radiation to treat cancer (including ovarian, uterine, or colorectal cancer)
-
Chemotherapy to treat cancer
-
Hormone suppression therapy to treat or prevent recurrences of hormone-positive breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer
In Munn’s case, hormone suppression treatment is being used to stop her ovaries from producing estrogen to help prevent her breast cancer from returning after she had surgery to remove the cancer and both breasts, she tells PEOPLE. According to Munn, whose type of cancer is fueled by hormones, she didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation, but hormone suppression treatment to cut off that fuel source should reduce the chances of the tumors forming again. “If someone has an estrogen-sensitive tumor, doctors try to block estrogen production, so they use drugs that basically shut down the ovaries,” Dr.co-director of the sexuality, intimacy and menopause program for cancer survivors at Yale University’s Smilow Cancer Center, tells Yahoo Life.
What are the symptoms of drug-induced menopause?
Menopause, whether induced by age or medication, is the same, so the symptoms are identical. Common symptoms, according to the Mayo clinic include:
For people who go through drug-induced menopause, the difference is that these changes happen more suddenly. “It will act very quickly,” says Minkin. She notes that about 20 percent of women don’t experience hot flashes when they go through menopause, but for people like Munn who go through medication-induced menopause, hot flashes are probably more common. “These people are going from a young person’s estrogen level to menopause, so we tell people this can be sudden.”
Although people on hormone suppression therapies for breast cancer cannot take hormone replacement therapy, there are prescriptions and herbal treatments that can help alleviate symptoms, says Minkin, who discusses some of these options on her website, Madam Ovary. with.
How long does drug-induced menopause last?
This depends on which treatment triggered the menopause. For those who have surgery to remove the ovaries, uterus or both, menopause will be permanent and, if the ovaries are removed, it will begin immediately. After chemotherapy, sometimes the ovaries begin to produce estrogen and menopause ends. But sometimes that doesn’t happen, says Minkin.
For those taking hormone-suppressing medications, like Munn, menopause will last as long as the treatment. According to a National Institute of Health study, breast cancer survivors have been taking these medications for an average of 4.04 years. Minkin says a treatment period of five to 10 years is common, depending on the type and stage of breast cancer someone has been diagnosed with.
Once someone who was premenopausal stops taking these types of medications, the ovaries should resume producing estrogen and progesterone and menstrual cycles will resume. A study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility in 2016 found that menstruation resumed within two years of treatment for 90% of women, meaning they were no longer in menopause.
Can a woman have children after going through medically induced menopause?
Yes – at least in theory. “If the woman is very young, she takes the medication for five years and then stops and the ovaries to do come back” — meaning her body is actively producing estrogen and progesterone to release eggs — “so everything is fine as far as pregnancy goes, and she may very well be able to get pregnant,” says Minkin. BreastCancer.org it also suggests that a woman’s fertility will return after treatment ends.
It’s not guaranteed, however. Minkin says if a woman has viable eggs, she can still get pregnant with IVF. But “if a woman stops therapies and her ovaries don’t wake up, then she has entered menopause.”
