Why I chose to have my ovaries removed after breast cancer.

Prepped for surgery and waiting to have my ovaries removed

After 18 months of active cancer treatment, you’d have thought I’d be finished with hospitals. But I chose to go back and have my ovaries out too. Why?

I was so desperate to be done with doctors and drugs and feeling unwell. Done with being a cancer patient. But I felt I had one last medical mission before I could move on with my life.

At 47, I had already been plunged into premature menopause due to chemo. It’s unlikely that my periods would have come back naturally. But I wanted to be sure. My cancer was both 100% oestrogen and 100% progesterone positive and I wanted to remove everything in my body that releases hormones. My hormones were trying to kill me.

I had already discussed with my oncologist that I wanted to take an aromatase inhibitor rather than tamoxifen. Statistically, these drugs are less well tolerated - the side effects are generally worse and the long term health risks are worse - but they are also slightly more effective against breast cancer recurrence. Which, given the 100% hormonal nature of my cancer and the fact that we have small children, was a no-brainer. I desperately wanted to throw everything at it.

On holiday a few weeks after surgery. In retrospect, it was too soon!

I could have just had monthly zoladex shots to shut down my ovaries. But I argued my case. I didn’t want to have a montly obligation for another trip to the doctor. I didn’t want to have to deal with the additional side effects of zoladex. And luckily, my surgeon agreed.

My mum had had breast cancer too. When she was in her early 60s. Unfortunately, the evidence of family history wasn’t strong enough for me to qualify for genetic testing where we live. But with a mum who has had breast cancer and a grandmother who probably died of some kind of cancer, it seems likely to me that there’s a link.

So how was it?

Honestly.

Harder than I was mentally prepared for.

By the time I went into surgery, I was so ready to feel better. I was desperate to get back to ‘me’. Or rather, start defining the new me. So I wasn’t prepared for the level of abdominal discomfort. Or the acute shoulder pain from having my abdomen pumped full of gas during surgery. No one tells you about that bit. Seriously distracting. Luckily, it’s short lived!

Post surgery, I was wiped out for longer than I expected. I gained nearly 5kg of fluid retention as my body healed. And I lost control of my stomach muscles, which meant I felt disabled. I couldn’t pick up the kids. I couldn’t lift anything heavy. For a few weeks, I looked 6 months pregnant!

I went on holiday just 3 weeks after surgery. To celebrate the end of treatment. It was fun but actually, it was too soon. I wasn’t nearly as mobile or recovered as I thought I would be.

By the 6 week mark, however, I was almost back to 100% normal.

For me, the long term side effects have been minimal. By the time I had the surgery, I had already been fully menopausal for a year. So the wild hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog and other array of menopausal symptoms had blurred into a general chemo blur. In many ways I feel lucky I was in the middle of chemo when I went into menopause. There was so much else going on, I barely noticed it.

Now, a year later, I feel that many of my menopause symptoms are reducing. And others, I’m learning to live with. My hot flushes are now rare and normally stress induced. I still have night sweats but they’re better than they were. I sleep better. And emotionally, weirdly, I have never felt more stable. The crazy, hormonal mood swings I used to have pre-cancer are a thing of the past. It’s refreshingly boring! A little bit dull. But I’ll take it!

I have no regrets. If you’re thinking about surgery too, get in touch, I’m happy to share my experience in more detail.