Chemotherapy and Menopause

Menopause is a natural life stage for a woman that begins with the final menstrual cycle, when the ovaries stop producing eggs. Chemotherapy can cause irregular or missed menstrual periods or may damage the ovaries, resulting in menopausal symptoms or menopause. Chemotherapy can trigger menopause at any time, including after your treatment has ended.

There's no way to determine exactly how and when chemotherapy and other cancer treatments will affect your menstrual cycle; however, menopause rarely occurs as a sudden response.