A breast cancer patient has described how treatment for the disease plunged her into a "horrendous" menopause which left her struggling to stand and suffering dozens of hot flushes a day.

Rachel Bowman said more needs to be done to help women undergoing cancer therapies to deal with the consequences of going into sudden and severe menopause, sometimes prematurely.

According to the organisation, Menopause and Cancer, 40% of women under 40 and 90% of those over 40 go into permanent menopause as a result of cancer treatment, with "many" finding the symptoms even harder to cope with than the side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.

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Ms Bowman, originally from Falkland in Fife, is sharing her own experience to coincide with World Menopause Day on October 18.

The retail director was 46 when she was diagnosed in 2022 with Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma after discovering a lump in her breast.

Prior to the diagnosis she had been taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to alleviate symptoms of perimenopause including anxiety, burning mouth syndrome, and unusually heavy periods.

She said: "I loved it - it just eradicated any of the symptoms I'd had, which was amazing.

"And I have to be really clear that I do not blame HRT for my breast cancer - I do not think it caused my breast cancer.

"If I'm honest, initially when I was diagnosed, my first thought was 'oh my God, now I need to stop HRT'.

"My first panic was about that - then I quickly realised I had cancer, and I had to focus on that more."

Ms Bowman said she dreaded having to stop HRT after diagnosis with breast cancer  (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)Following a mastectomy, a biopsy graded Ms Bowman with a medium to high risk of recurrence.

She was placed on the hormone-blocking drug Zoladex, to stop her ovaries from generating oestrogen, before undergoing four months of chemotherapy after which she began to take the preventative breast cancer drug Tamoxifen.

The combination "threw me into menopause", said Ms Bowman.

"Although I had had some symptoms of perimenopause before, this was much more intense," she said.

"When I saw the oncologist, I was advised that I would experience 'menopause-like symptoms' - no one said to me 'you'll be put into the menopause'.

"One day you're producing oestrogen, and the next day you're not.

"I was having about 20 hot flushes a day, and my joint pain was so bad I couldn’t stand up in the morning - I was like an old lady.

"I also had terrible brain fog. In meetings, I'd struggle to remember the right word or lose the thread in conversations.

"Going through the menopause, there's the mental side of it as well. That's the worst, because you doubt yourself.

"My confidence really took a knock."

Ms Bowman, who now lives in Brighton, said that when she went back to her oncologist to seek help for "horrendous" menopause symptoms she was told to "take a supplement".

"They just said 'it's not my area of expertise'. That made me very, very frustrated."

Seeking advice, Ms Bowman turned to Menopause and Cancer and contacted founder Danni Binnington, who hosts its podcast.

She also credits the not-for-profit organisation with putting her in touch with a support system of other patients.

She said: "Recently we got together and did a sponsored walk, and for the whole weekend you have the chance to chat to lots of people who've been through similar experiences to you.

"There's something really cathartic about being in a community where you're able to speak freely and share what's worked and hasn't worked for you, and listen to others.

"That's been a massive help to me."

Activities such as cold water swimming in the sea off Brighton, where Ms Bowman lives, has helped with some of her menopausal symptomsActivities such as cold water swimming in the sea off Brighton, where Ms Bowman lives, has helped with some of her menopausal symptoms (Image: Newsquest) When her cancer returned earlier this year, Ms Bowman was switched onto another drug, Letrozole, which strips away oestrogen.

The side effects were so bad she decided to pause treatment after four months.

She said: "I'm still on a break and I'll have to make a decision in a few weeks about what I do.

"It really made me feel very, very low in terms of my mood.

"I'm really grateful that we've got drugs to help us and keep us alive, but when they impact on your quality of life it's a difficult choice.

"You're taking something to reduce the risk of cancer coming back, but it's making you feel crap."

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Ms Bowman said that if she could "wave a magic wand" she would like to see menopause specialists embedded within NHS breast care centres so that patients can get advice as soon as they are diagnosed.

She said: "For everybody I've met, there's been something where either they've not been informed fully at the point when they're starting treatment about how it's going to impact them, or when they experience these symptoms they don't then get help to manage or minimise them.

"I get it. The NHS and the doctors, they were interested in treating my cancer.

"They want to keep me alive and not get cancer. But I want to stay alive and have a good life. 

"It's not everywhere. There are some amazing doctors. My oncologist right now is great at looking at things holistically. 

"But there are women in the community who say that they haven't always been aware of or able to get the help they need.

"Initially, at diagnosis, I would have loved to have someone I could speak to in my breast care centre to help me manage my symptoms.

"Someone to say 'okay, having this treatment is going to throw you into the menopause, we advise you to speak to the menopause specialist in our clinic and here's what you need to know'.

"That would have been amazing."