Campaigners are calling for menopause support to be included into cancer treatment care plans.<\/p>\n
The majority (90%) of the 1,200 people surveyed by Menopause and Cancer said they were not provided plans to help manage menopause-related health changes brought on by cancer treatment.<\/p>\n
Its founder Dani Billington said the results were \u00ab\u00a0not a surprise\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
NHS England has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n
Ms Billington said there was currently no direct pathway for menopause treatment support included in cancer care plans.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We call for improved training for healthcare professionals, better access to therapies and specialist care so people can manage menopause safely and effectively,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Billington, who lives in Thames Ditton, Surrey, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33, and she said that her treatment caused her to experience early menopause aged 39.<\/p>\n
She subsequently set up the charity to support patients and run workshops to equip healthcare professionals with better knowledge.<\/p>\n
Rachel Bowman, from Brighton, East Sussex, was first diagnosed with breast cancer at 46 and was on hormone treatment therapy (HRT) to help relieve perimenopause symptoms.<\/p>\n
The now 49-year-old, who is the director of Menopause and Cancer, said she was only given a menopause management plan after she was diagnosed with cancer again in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Support teams who have this specific experience is very patchy,\u00a0\u00bb she added.<\/p>\n
Kent resident Penny Giles-McLoughlin, 54, was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 50, but said she too was not provided guidance on how to manage menopause caused by cancer treatment.<\/p>\n
Dr Carys Sonnenberg, a GP and menopause specialist, from Surrey, said historically the focus in oncology was treating and surviving the cancer and \u00ab\u00a0less attention to long-term quality of life issues including menopause\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Oncology, gynaecology, and primary care may not always coordinate well, so patients can fall between the cracks,\u00a0\u00bb she added.<\/p>\n
Dr Sonnenberg said menopause care should be built into cancer care plans from the start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Campaigners are calling for menopause support to be included into cancer treatment care plans. The majority (90%) of the 1,200 people surveyed by Menopause and Cancer said they were not provided plans to help manage menopause-related health changes brought on by cancer treatment. Its founder Dani Billington said the results were \u00ab\u00a0not a surprise\u00a0\u00bb. NHS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9182\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}