Side effects of treatment for young women

Breast cancer and its treatments can cause many physical side effects. For young women, some side effects can have a very specific impact.

We explain what younger women may need to consider, before, during and after treatment.

It is important to discuss any side effects with your doctor or nurse so you can get help to manage them.

Early menopause

As a young woman, you’re probably not thinking about menopause. Some treatments, however, can affect your ovaries and cause them to stop working. This leads to premature (‘early onset’) menopause.

Chemotherapy and hormone-blocking therapies (such as Zoladex - Goserelin) reduce the level of oestrogen produced in the ovaries. When your oestrogen levels drop, your periods will stop. You will enter at least a temporary early menopause.

It’s hard to predict how long treatment-induced menopause will last, or whether it is permanent or temporary.

Generally, the impact depends on:

• your age
• your ovarian function before treatment
• what treatment you are having.

For information, read:

• Treatments that can cause menopause
• Reduce menopause symptoms from breast cancer treatment.

Fertility problems

Some treatments, such as chemotherapy, can affect your ability to become pregnant. Chemotherapy can damage the ovaries, reducing how many eggs you have, or how healthy they are.

The impact of chemotherapy depends on:

• the type of chemotherapy drugs used
• your age
• how fertile you were before treatment.

Don’t wait to discuss fertility with your doctor.

If having children is important to you, or may be in the future, it’s important to discuss fertility with your doctor before you begin treatment. You may have fewer options if you leave the discussion about fertility until after you start treatment.

For information, read Breast cancer and fertility.

Increased risk of osteoporosis

The hormone oestrogen protects against bone loss and helps keep bones strong.

Some breast cancer treatments reduce or block oestrogen in the body. This can cause lower bone density and increase the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that makes bones brittle, increasing the risk of fractures and breaks.

Treatments that may increase your risk of osteoporosis include:

• chemotherapy
• ovarian suppression
• tamoxifen
• aromatase inhibitors

For information, read Ways to improve your bone health.