Calls to include the support of menopause in cancer care

Activists ask that menopause support be included in cancer treatment plans.

The majority (90%) of the 1,200 people interviewed by menopause and cancer said they had not planned plans to help manage health changes linked to menopause caused by cancer treatment.

Its founder and CEO Dani Binnington said that the results were “no surprise”.

The NHS England has been approached to comment.

Binnington said that there was no direct route to support the treatment of menopause included in cancer care plans.

“We are calling for better training for health professionals, better access to therapies and specialized care so that people can manage menopause safely and effectively,” she said.

Ms. Binnington, who lives in Thames Ditton, Surrey, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33, and she said that her treatment had made her known an early menopause at 39 years.

She then created the charity to support patients and organize workshops to provide health professionals with better knowledge.

Rachel Bowman, from Brighton, East Sussex, was first diagnosed with breast cancer at 46 and was under hormone therapy (HRT) to help relieve the symptoms of perimenopause.

The 49 -year -old man, who is the director of menopause and cancer, said that she had only received a menopause management plan after his cancer diagnosis in 2023.

“The support teams that have this specific experience are very unequal,” she added.

Kent’s resident Penny Giles-McLoulin, 54, was diagnosed with 50-year-old breast cancer, but said she also had no advice on how to manage menopause caused by cancer treatment.

Dr. Carys Sonnenberg, a general practitioner and specialist in menopause, of Surrey, historically declared the accent on oncology dealing and survived cancer and “less attention to the long -term quality of life, including menopause”.

“Oncology, gynecology and primary care may not always coordinate well, so that patients can be between the meshes of the net,” she added.

Dr. Sonnenberg said menopause care should be integrated into cancer care plans from the start.