Hi, I'm new with questions (upcoming hysterectomy)...

Hi everyone,
My name is Kim and I am 38 years old, with three young daughters.

I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer two years ago. I did chemo, mastectomy, radiation and am now on a drug called Tamoxifen for the next few years.

My cancer was "estrogen-positive", meaning that the estrogen in my body was "fueling" the cancer to grow (the Tamoxifen acts as an estrogen blocker to prevent a recurrence).

My oncologist and gynecologist both suggest a hysterectomy, as the Tamoxifen can cause (although rare), uterine cancer. They also think that ovary removal would be in my best interest -- the less estrogen running through my body, the better.

My surgery is scheduled for January 9. I will have a total hysterectomy (including removing the tubes). I am a bit concerned about a few things. I have read that ovary removal can up my risk for heart disease and stroke. I've also heard that I will be thrown into permanent menopause (of course), but that I will have hot flashes forever. I have been through hot flashes as the chemo threw me into an early menopause for almost two years (until my period returned on Thanksgiving Day, of all days)! Ha Ha

I want to do everything I can to decrease my risk for ovarian cancer (although I do not have any family history); that kind of cancer really scares me as I know that often, it is not detected until the later stages.

I am also concerned with how I will be able to manage my household during the 6-week recovery. The nurse told me that I will not be able to even run the vacuum cleaner (!), nor drive for at least a few weeks.

Can anyone here answer some of these questions for me? I really do want to go through with the hysterectomy (no more periods sounds heavenly), but I am debating on having the ovaries removed because of the above concerns.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this!

Hi Kim and to this wonderful site...

you have been dealing with alot sweetie I am glad you found us, here you will find support, advice, strenght, good sisters, understanding and whole bunch more.
before I had my surgery, I was worried about menopause, hot flushes, etc, but you really cant tell for sure how your body is going to react until after surgery. in my case, I have no symptoms what so ever, no flushes, night sweats, mood swings etc, the only thing I have is vaginal dryness and for that there are a bunch of over the counter things to take care of that, I dont take any hrt (hormonal therapy).
I dont have my ovaries, I just kept my cervix, and for the heart I take a bunch of vatamins supplements along with fish oil (omega 3), eating healthy and some exercise all can help prevent heart disease and stroke in the future.
recovery is different for each person, but normally it takes 6-8 weeks, more or less. do you have family close by that can help you with your girls, neighbors, etc. you will definately will need some sort of help with them. its best that you do as your doctor tells you and always listen to your body for a good and fast recovery without complications.

we are here 24/7, a big to you......

Kim -

As noted we are all different but I am 50 had hysterectomy 6 weeks ago (da Vinci LAVH BSO). I had no menopausal symptoms before surgery they showed up 5 days after. They have moderated some but I'm still dealing with them.

I would recommend you get the book Sudden Menopause so you know some of the health risks from going into early menopause. Personally I would do additional questioning on less invasive procedures than TAH if you have no cancer in those organs now this would help your recovery time. I'm not a doctor but I would want to do some further research on the risk of developing ovarian cancer and whether I had to have the surgery right now. Can they monitor you in some way to give you more time? You definitely don't want to have ovarian cancer but menopause brings it's own health risks.

Hi Kim. I'm sorry you have had to experience breast cancer. Mine was 25 years ago (stage 2), when I was 35 years old. Mine was also estrogen receptor positive and it was suggested that I have a hysterectomy too. Way back then there was controversy about the need, so I kept my "parts". (My year of chemo essentially destroyed my ovaries, and I had a chemical menopause that lasted for years). I figured that the early menopause meant less estrogen to fuel the cancer, so it wasn't necessary to have a hysterectomy. I got by for 25 years, and then developed post menopausal bleeding. Long story short, the cause was very early endometrial cancer. I had my hysterectomy on Oct. 29. I am told that there is little chance for recurrence, but will be followed closely for five years. I've learned to live with hot flashes, so haven't been too concerned about those. (They may be just a bit better since the hysterectomy).

I'm approaching seven weeks in my recovery and am doing well (at the age of 60). I did take it very easy for the required time. If you have young children, you may want to take advantage of any offers of help so that you can heal well, without complications.

I wish you well, Kim. Keep positive! Best wishes.

Barb A.

I was post menopausal when I had my hysterectomy. (I went through menopaise at the age of 50.) I suffered - and I mean suffered - from hot flashes from the age of 42 until I reached 54. I have found that after my hysterectomy I had a few weeks of what I called mini hot flashes - where I would become very warm but never break into the awful sweats. They are gone now.

Because I am considered high risk for BRCA (my sister had BRCA with negative receptors), I stopped HRT when she was diagnosed and do not take it now. I have had some vaginal dryness that I have handled with over-the-counter lubricants. Otherwise, I am doing well.

Because of my cancer diagnosis, my ovaries were removed. I am taking supplements and working into a regular exercise program and more healthful eating to reduce my risk of heart disease. I have already outlived my mother by 9 years - she died of heart disease at the age of 49. She was a heavy smoker, sedentary and with a poor diet so I quit smoking 32 years ago and am trying to be more active and eat better than she did.

I was very surprised at all of the help I received during my recovery. Church family, friends and neighbors brought meals for over 2 weeks. Other hystersisters have frozen meals in preparation for their surgeries. I would recommend hiring a cleaning service during your recovery so that you are not tempted to overdo. DH and I are empty nesters, so it was easier for us to just take it easy during my recovery as we had no little ones to consider.

I hope all goes well for you.

Hi Kim, I am 44 and have had total hysterectomy with removal of both ovaries 10 weeks ago for endometriosis, ovarian cysts and a fibroid. I feel fine and have just the odd flush but nothing awful. They want to put me on HRT but I am worried about the risks associated with it so may decide to just go for something herbal. The main risk they told me was osteoporosis in later life. If you do decide to go for removal of the ovaries it really isn't that bad an op and you should recover reasonably quickly if you rest plenty. I am 10 weeks post op and am still off work and not driving but that is because I don't want to overdo it. I actually feel fine in myself. Good luck with your decision and like I said if you do have to go ahead with removal of the ovaries, I would't worry about it too much. It sounds more scary than it actually is.

There was a link on this site to a fantastic article regarding the latest study on the risk of hormone therapy. https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...d.php?t=347895

It's very, very interesting. Info. about HRT has gone back and forth a lot, but this is very clear about reducing the risks.

Kara :

Please make sure you do have people around to help you. You will be ok but the first few weeks you really want to take it easy. I wanted to vacuumn so many times & at 5 weeks after surgery I am still letting my hubby do it. Some one said to me you only have one chance at a great recovery so take it very slow. I kept my ovaries so I can't comment on that part other than I did have the hot flashes & night sweats for the first 3 weeks anyway but it did go away. My best wishes to you!

Thanks so much ladies. I appreciate all of your replies! I am weighing the risks (increased chance of heart problems/stroke and/or osteoporosis later in life) and benefit (eliminating the majority of estrogen in my body now and thus reducing my risk for a cancer recurrence). An added plus of removing the ovaries of course would be reducing my chances of ovarian cancer greatly. I will go over all of this with my gyn before the surgery, but if anyone else would like to share what their doctors have advised/info given, I'd really appreciate it