Can Thyroid Cancer Cause Early Menopause?
Cancer Treatment Treatment for thyroid cancer may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or a combination of any of these procedures. Radiation and chemotherapy are used to kill cancer cells, however, when given in significant doses, these treatments can also cause damage to the ovaries. When ovulation no longer occurs, it may result in early onset of menopause, which occurs before age 40. According to researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, while thyroid cancers are uncommon, when they do occur, young women are usually the victims of these types of cancers. Chemotherapy The risk of medically induced premature menopause increases in women who are 35 years old or older when they undergo chemotherapy. The dose of chemotherapy, duration of treatment and types of chemotherapy drugs used are all risk factors. However, the older a woman is at the time of treatment, the more extensive the damage may be to her ovaries. Premature ovarian failure can
