Listed below are some questions that may be helpful when talking about menopause and breast cancer:
- What’s the risk that the treatments you are recommending for me will cause early menopause?
- How soon after treatment starts should I expect menopausal symptoms, if any?
- What level of menopausal symptoms is normal?
- Will my periods stop as a result of my treatment?
- I am planning a first or further pregnancy. Can I speak to a fertility specialist before starting treatment for breast cancer?
- What contraception should I/my partner be using? For how long should I use contraception?
- Can you refer me to a menopause specialist to discuss my symptoms and how they affect me and my family?
- Apart from menopause, what else might be causing my symptoms?
- Can I talk to someone about how I’m feeling?
- Can I speak to a dietitian?
- What level and types of exercise are suitable for me?
- How will menopause affect my sex life?
- What products can I use to help manage vaginal dryness?
- Can I/my partner speak to a sexual therapist/counsellor?
- What treatments are available if I have severe menopausal symptoms?
- What’s known about the effectiveness of the treatment you are recommending?
- Will the treatment you’re recommending affect my risk of breast cancer coming back or developing a new breast cancer?
- Does the treatment you are recommending contain hormones or compounds that act like hormones? How do you know that this is safe for me to take after breast cancer?
- What’s known about the long-term effects of the treatment you’re recommending?
- Will this treatment affect my risk of osteoporosis? Can this be monitored?