Menopause and breast cancer

8 out of 10 cases of breast cancer are in women over the age of 50 who have been through menopause. So, let’s talk about menopause and breast cancer. 

The menopause is… 

Menopause is a natural part of ageing for women when your period stops without medication or pregnancy. It is specifically your last menstrual period. 

During reproductive years, you experience a monthly cycle where your ovaries release an egg each month. This egg is either fertilised by sperm or eliminated through menstruation. The sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone control this process. With age, the number of eggs stored in your ovaries decreases, which causes your levels of sex hormones to reduce. This hormone drop changes the typical pattern of your menstrual cycle, which eventually stops altogether as the ovaries no longer release eggs. 

To break it down, the time before your last period, when periods may become less frequent or irregular, is called perimenopause. This can last several years. Your last physical period is the menopause. It is only medically confirmed when you haven’t had a period for 12 months. Finally, after 12 months without a period, it is called post-menopause. 

Menopause usually happens around the ages of 45 to 55 years. In the UK, the average age for menopause is 51 years. There are an estimated 13 million women in the UK who are currently peri-menopausal or post-menopausal, representing around a third of the UK female population. 

It’s important to note that menopause can also be caused by certain surgeries, such as the removal of your ovaries (a.k.a. a bilateral oophorectomy) or by certain cancer treatments, like chemotherapy or radiotherapy. 

The changes that come with menopause 

Around menopause, your body goes through many changes.  

First and foremost, hormonal changes. Your sex hormone levels decrease, which changes the typical pattern of your menstrual periods, and eventually, your period stops altogether. These menopause-related hormonal changes can lead to a wide array of symptoms. However, menopause affects different people in different ways, meaning you may experience some, many or no symptoms at all.  

Some of the most common symptoms include hot flushes, brain fog and memory issues, sleep disturbances, body shape changes, weight gain, changes in the breasts, bone density loss and vaginal dryness. 

In the UK, out of 4,014 women aged 45-55, 77% experienced at least one menopausal symptom, which they described as ‘very difficult’. While 44% experienced three or more symptoms that are severe. 

What about breast cancer and menopause? 

To be very clear, menopause does not cause breast cancer. Yet breast cancer is most common in people over the age of 50 who have been through menopause. That’s 82% of breast cancers being in women over the age of 50.  

The reason your risk of breast cancer increases with age is because mutations can build up in your cells, leading to abnormal cell growth, including those that may increase your risk of breast cancer.  

Another aspect to consider is that after menopause, the sex hormone oestrogen is mainly produced by fat cells, which make up a more significant part of your breasts. This means the levels of oestrogen in your breast can be higher and may increase your risk of breast cancer. 

Other things like reaching menopause after the age of 55, being overweight or obese, having type 2 diabetes, and taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can also increase your risk of breast cancer post-menopause. Read more on HRT and breast cancer here.

A few tips 

There are a few nutrition and lifestyle habits that can help manage some of the symptoms associated with menopause. 

For instance, maintaining a healthy weight for your height can both reduce the severity of symptoms and reduce your risk of breast cancer. With that in mind, eating a healthy and varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and oily fish and limited in saturated fat, added sugar, and salt supports maintaining a healthy weight. Something to keep in mind is that food and drinks containing caffeine, alcohol or spiciness may trigger or worsen some menopause symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats, and migraines. 

Staying active can also help manage menopause symptoms. Doing a mixture of aerobic exercises like swimming, walking, or cycling, as well as resistance training exercises (which help maintain your muscles), has been shown to reduce the severity of menopause symptoms. Adding some yoga sessions into your routine can also help your mental health and, potentially, how you sleep. 

Although practically all women experience some symptoms around menopause, some women may experience them in a more severe or prolonged way. We strongly recommend speaking to a qualified healthcare professional about your menopause symptoms and discussing your risk of breast cancer. 

Read our key facts sheets to learn more about Menopause and Breast Cancer. Dive deeper into this topic and read our science review.