Menopause starts a new chapter in a women’s life. The transition from having a fertile reproductive system to entering into the phase of infertility does not happen overnight. The process may take 2-5 years. The phase may encourage women to take a new look on their life and think about their own personal identity while leaving them with some temporary but inevitable, uncomfortable symptoms like hot flushes, mood swings, sleep disturbance and a few others.
Menopause brings on certain physical and psychological changes that often give rise to some important health-related questions. One of them is if menopause increases cancer risk. In this article, we will address the concern in details.
What is menopause?
Menopause is the physical phenomenon in a woman’s body, and identifiable with a phase when ovaries do not release eggs any more. It causes a drop in the production of female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Though menopause is a natural phenomenon, sometimes it is caused by surgical removal of ovaries and induced by other treatments.
Dr, Samir Bhattacharya, an eminent onco-surgeon at SGCCRI, a reputed cancer special hospital in Kolkata, explains that hormone secretion becomes irregular during pre-menopause period and eventually leads to menopause. Medically, a woman gets menopause when she does not have menstruation for 12 consecutive months. In India, it usually starts around the age of 48 but it may happen earlier or later. Premature menopause may happen in women under the age 40 years.
What are the common symptoms of menopause?
Not all women experience the same symptoms in their pre-menopausal period. The most common symptoms of menopause are:
- Hot flashes
- Sleep disorder
- Night sweats
- Mood swings
- Vaginal dryness
- Discomfort or pain during sexual intercourse
- Weight gain
- Hair loss
- Dry skin
Does menopause raise cancer risk?
The physicians at the hospitals for cancer care in Kolkata say menopause does not raise the risk of getting a cancer diagnosis; rather it is the old age that does. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) claims that menopause-related factors are linked to the risk of developing cancer.
Exposure to External Hormones: Natural hormonal changes have no role in cancer development. But many women opt for hormonal therapy after their menopause and it may raise cancer risk. Combination hormonal therapy replacement is strongly linked to increased breast cancer risk.
A woman should consult her doctors about her symptoms and if she needs hormone therapy to relieve problems. Hormone therapy should be used as a short-time remedy and at a low dose. Not all women, after their menopause, are candidates for hormone therapy.
A Greater Number of Ovulation Till Menopause: According to the NIH (National Institute of Health), having menopause after the age of 55 increases the risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer. This is because these women had increased number ovulations before having menopause.
Women, who had their first menstruation before the age of 12, experience menopause after the age of 55 or have no children, have a higher number of ovulations over their lifetime and hence, have a greater risk for cancer.