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Menopause - Management
How should I manage a woman with current or previous breast cancer?
- Offer lifestyle advice or non-HRT therapies initially.
- If a woman with a significant family history of breast cancer requires hormone replacement therapy (HRT), refer to a specialist breast clinic to determine her personal risk, without which an informed decision cannot be made.
- For women with current or previous breast cancer who have severe menopausal symptoms, seek specialist advice from the local oncologist or specialist menopausal clinic.
Basis for recommendation
- This recommendation is based on published expert opinion [Rees and Purdie, 2006a].
- Hormone replacement therapy remains contraindicated in women who have had breast cancer.
- Troublesome symptoms of oestrogen deficiency are common in women receiving treatment for breast cancer. Hormone replacement therapy has been given with tamoxifen but should be avoided in women taking aromatase inhibitors (e.g. anastrozole) [RCPE, 2003].
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