I Went Through Medically Induced Menopause to Stop My Cancer. I Had No Idea What That Would Really Mean

My oncologist prescribed a five-year treatment plan that wiped out all the estrogen in my body and shut down my ovaries. Within weeks, I was a hot-flashing, mood-swinging insomniac. In some ways, I was prepared for the onslaught of symptoms. I remember my mother driving me around town in the dead of winter in Vermont with all the windows down. My doctor also warned me about the likelihood of having intense mood swings and night sweats. But my worst symptom of all, and the one no one ever mentioned, was vaginal atrophy.

Vaginal atrophy, the thinning and drying of vaginal tissues brought on by a decrease in estrogen, is a very common symptom of menopause. It is often more severe during hormone therapy and causes uncomfortable symptoms, like itching, burning, and pain during sexual intercourse. My heart dropped. That’s why sex has been so painful.

When I finally told my primary-care doctor about the pain I’d been experiencing, she recommended a vaginal-rejuvenation treatment that uses a laser to stimulate collagen production and cellular regrowth in the vaginal wall. The treatment was not covered by insurance, but I decided to try it. It helped with many of my symptoms, but sex was still extremely painful. Vaginal-rejuvenation treatments—including lasers, sound-wave therapy, and platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) therapy—are gaining popularity, although few are covered by insurance. “We are moving into an era of talking about menopause and medically induced menopause more openly,” said Rachel Goodman, MD, FACOG, of Second Spring MD in Santa Fe. She adds that there are multiple ways to treat the symptoms that come along with it, including vaginal pain.

Over the next few years, I tried many: refined and unrefined coconut-oil suppositories, hyaluronic-acid lube, CBD oils, and lidocaine numbing cream (which does help). I got acupuncture and tried vaginal steaming. But none of these homeopathic remedies fixed the vaginal atrophy wreaking havoc on my psyche and sex life.

“I’m at a loss,” I finally told my gynecologist after years of unsuccessful treatments. “Nothing is working.”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t a quick fix for breast cancer survivors,” she said. “The only thing proven to be effective is vaginal estrogen cream.”

I was wary of using an estrogen cream to treat my symptoms. After all, my breast cancer was hormone sensitive, meaning it needed estrogen to grow. I was taking heavy-duty medications to proactively kill all the estrogen in my body. I’d even stopped eating edamame.