New videos about early menopause after treatment

It is quite common for the ovaries to stop working properly during treatments for lymphoma such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For some women, periods start again a few months or years after finishing treatment. For others, periods never restart. This is because the treatment has left them with too few healthy cells in their ovaries.

• Find out more about how different cancer treatments might affect your chance of having an early menopause.

Sex, fertility and changing hormones are subjects that women often feel uncomfortable talking about with their friends, family or even doctor. We’ve created these videos to help women understand what is happening to them and the treatment choices they have and feel empowered to start conversations about this important issue.

Two of the videos feature Professor Richard Anderson, Professor of Clinical Reproductive Science at the University of Edinburgh and specialist in infertility and reproductive endocrinology. He talks through some of the terminology you might hear, the symptoms you might experience and how an early menopause could affect your long-term health. He also offers advice on what to do if you are worried about early menopause, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), or taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The third video features Juliet, who experienced an early menopause after having a stem cell transplant to treat Hodgkin lymphoma. Juliet talks about having to make difficult decisions about her fertility, how going through an early menopause made her feel, and how talking to people about these experiences helped. 

You can watch the videos below, on the YouTube playlist or on our early menopause page.