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will i get a period after cervical cancer

movingon
1 Recommendation

I am 25 and I found out in january that I had stage 3 cervical cancer with 2 positive lymph nodes. My surgeon moved an ovary up to hopefully prevent menopause. I then went through 6 chemo treatments 25 external radiation treatments and 6 internal radiation treatments. Although I did temporarily go through menopause my estrogen levels are normal now. I have not received a period yet. Has anyone gotten there period after chemo and radiation and has anyone gotten pregnant? and what are the risks of pregnancy?

Explore topics in this discussion:

Cancer Surgery Hysterectomy Menopause Pregnancy Cervical cancer

15 replies

schnookums

did you have a hysterectomy? what do you mean the doctor moved an ovary up? i am assuming you mean they shielded you with the radiation?

movingon

No i didn't have a hysterectomy. I was suppose to have a trachelectomy but when they found out that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes a trachelectomy was no longer an option. So she moved the ovary up its called an ovary transposition. They remove the ovary from its current position and move it up so that was when I went through radiation it would be out of the radiation field. Its a fairly new procedure but because of it I am not in menopause and I have the option to at least do a surrogant if I can't carry my own child.

Beege

Good luck to you and becoming a Mother in the future...modern medicine amazes me..............

greengirl55

I had chemo/rad for CC and you will not get your period after treatments - they stop during your treatments. Radiation puts you into menopause.

movingon

I was in menopause but Im not anymore. I have had blood work done that says I am no longer in menopause. Before I went through radiation and chemo I had my ovary moved out of the radiation field so that I wouldn't go through menopause. The chemo unfortunately did put me in what they called "chemo-pause" (its a temporary menopause) but I have recovered from that now. I know I have the option to have a surrogant if I decide to have kids later on Im just not sure how the radiation efffects the uterus.

greengirl55

ah ok - I missed the part about moving your ovary out of the field of radiation. i know my ovaries and uterus were fried from the radiation treatments. your best bet is probably to call your oncologist or nurse as everyone is different. hope everything works out for you!

flowershoplady

movingon, this is an excellent question for your doctor....it's great that they were able to keep your ovaries functioning and the doctor would be able to explain whether or not that still means you'll menstruate since it probably depends upon the condition of the uterus/cervix post radiation. and, maybe you'll share the info with the rest of us as to how things will now work for you! :) i hope you're doing well, and healing from all your treatments.

its_my_goliath

you should get an ultrasound to see if the ovary is functioning. I was told that the chances of it moving back during radiation would be 50/50 s I opted not to do it. You will not be able to carry a child after having radiation. You are right your only change is for egg harvesting. But if you haven't had a period yet there might be other issues. I wouldn't rely on the blood test I've read those are very inaccurate.

movingon

I did talk to my doctor. She told me that some women will get a normal period, some will just spot while others won't get anything at all. She said as far as preganany goes she recommends using protection if we aren't trying and recommends a fertility specialist when we do start trying. So I guess for now I will just wait and see. I have another appointment next month with a different doctor maybe she can shed some light on the situation

greengirl55

that would be great if you were able to get pregnant- i was alway under the impression that radiation made that impossible. i thought that the damage the radiation does to the uterus, cervix and vagina prevented you from carrying a child.

hope it all works out for you!

bodina

hi ...I also had my ovaries moved both of them...and then had radio chemo treatment. i have now some menopause symptoms. I was wondering ...did you have a blood test to check your FSH levels after treatment??? My fsh is high and im not sure if its permanent or if my ovaries will start working after a while again... you will be getting your period but with less blood. i dont know if you can get pregnant after radio you should discuss it with your gyn. my doctor told me i cannot and should not since the uterus is also damaged by radiation.

movingon

no I have not had my FSH levels checked. I have had my estrogen level tested twice. The first time when I was having hot flashes it was less than 15 (indicating menopause) the dr. said it could be temporary or permanent. I had them checked again about a month ago because I wasn't having hot flashes anymore and it was over 500. (indicating normal hormone levels). I would like to check into the FSH level, what would a high or low level indicate?

bodina

since your estrogen levels are good i dont think its necessary to check your fsh levels too.
I have found a study on line that is really interesting about ovarian transposition and fertility
http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/13/3/660.pdf
How long after treatment did your blood tests show that your ovary was working??? Mine show now that i have menopause but i finished treatment 2 months ago and i want to wait some more before i start HRT . Im hoping that they will start working again!!! Im glad this surgery worked out well for you, it gives me some hope!!

movingon

Thank you so much for the information. I had blood test done 1 month after treatment and those results showed that I was in menopause. I had blood test done again 3 months after treatment and the results came back normal. The doctor offered me birth control instead of HRT but I refused also wanting to wait and see what would happen. They say it can take up to a year for the ovary to start working again. I hope yours start working too. The hot flashes sucked!

flowershoplady

my understanding is that using blood tests of estrogen levels can be quite unreliable and misleading because the levels and results can vary from day to day.

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