Scaring myself with mr google

[grandmagorgeous]

I am still having regular periods at almost 56. I have had a scan, and thank goodness, everything seems normal. I am now reading that the later your periods finish the increased chance of breast cancer etc. I suffer with crippling health anxiety so would appreciate any thoughts on this. Please be gentle with me x

While it's true that there is a slight increase in the possibility of breast cancer if your menopause starts late, it's still only a small chance. The best thing you can do is to have regular mammograms and do a self examination every month.

Thank you for your speedy reply. Do you know how slight the increase is. It is really playing on my mind at lot lately? I could cope with still having periods (even though I do not like them)
if I could put this thought out of my mind x

It's going to be something like a 3 more cases in 10,000 women risk. OP.
Statistically detectable but very very very small.

Thank you for your reply I am very grateful. Is the odds really only 3 in 10000. I thought it was more than that. All the info that I am reading does not give any actually figures. Do you mind if I ask you were you found those figures x

Bump

I wrote 'like' b/c I can't find real figures either.
ok, I will try to find real figures...

Thank you I would really appreciate it x

There's so many other things that increase your risk of breast cancer which you can change, would it be better to focus on the things you can make a difference to rather than when your periods stop (which you can't control)? Eat well, lose weight (fat is oestrogenic), stop smoking, exercise, wear a well fitting bra, go for regular screening etc?

I think you need to stop worrying!

There is absolutely nothing you or any of us can do to control how long we have periods, when they start or stop, our family history /genes.

Ive never read any stats on this, unlike the PP, (not sure where those figures come from?) but as there is nothing you can do to change it, why worry?

To offset any added risk, you should focus on the things that may help prevent BC- being a healthy weight so BMI no more than 25, not drinking, exercising several times a week and having a healthy diet with little red meat.

How does a type of bra help prevent BC ?

When you have crippling health anxiety then nothing I can say will reassure you. Information is not what you need.

I like numbers so I wanted to work it out anyway, but I hope that I'm not just feeding your mental illness.

This may say almost 3% increase each year over women who have avg menopause age.
They say avg is 49.5yo.
That's 3% over baseline, afaik.

Ordinary woman, if your current age is 50, the probability of developing invasive breast cancer in the next 10 years is 2.31%, or 1 in 43. Increase that by 3%. So 1.03% * 2.31% = 2.38%. An increase of 7 in 10,000 over next 10 yrs.

I am not sure how to do the math right (did I mention), but I think you might be looking at 3.5% 10 yr risk for the still-menstruating 56yo woman compared to 3% for the women who menopaused at 49.5yo. That's an extra 50/10,000 women over the 10 yr period, or 5 extra woman per year in theory (out of every 10,000). yes I am feeling smug that my throwaway guess 3/10,000 was so close

I would like to know how to do the math properly so happy to be corrected.

Sadly I realise belatedly that you will worry no matter what.

They say avg is 49.5yo.

@lljkk

No the average age of menopause in UK is 51.5 years.

There are SO many factors that influence all cancers.

The factors for women include

Age of first period
Age of last period
Age at first pregnancy
Number of live births (pregnancy)
No children (higher risk)
Time spent breast feeding
Family history
Diet/ exercise/ lifestyle....

Being overweight is the biggest risk factor.
Drinking more than 1 unit a day is a big risk
Not exercising is a big risk
Smoking is a big risk
Breast density is a factor (denser=more risk)
Benign cysts= higher risk
and so it goes on..

OP live life, enjoy it, control what you can and stop worrying. :)

If you continue to bleed for many more years, that needs checking out anyway just to be sure they ARE periods and nothing wrong with your womb.

The article I was trying to link to ,the huge meta-analysis, the avg age they report for menopause among those 400,000+ participants, was 49.3yo.

I think the figures are so tiny, it's not worth worrying about.

Thank you lovely ladies for all your information.
I really do appreciate you taking the time to reply. I do like facts and figures and details so I really do appreciate it x

Don't worry yourself about late stage menopause. Biggest risk for cancer breast, endometrial and ovarian is genetics. Late menopause offers protection against bone loss, heart attack and cardiac issues hence why women are offered HRT. Do not worry about increased risk of cancer it is only similar statistic as women on HRT, and is very low risk 3 %, poss even lower, research studies do not cover whole population so are only based upon presenting cases at a given point. just make sure you have all your regular checks i.e. Smear test mammogram etc and see GP if you ever feel something is out of your ordinary. Research has proven the HPV virus to be a presenting factor along side genetics as a major cancer marker. The positive of a late menopause outways risk, no hot flushes, mood swings, bone density loss and new research is looking at less chance of dementia. Normal rule of thumb is "did your mother have late menopause". Often late menopausers will go through the process quicker too. Hope this helps to reasure.

@sausage19

My understanding is that the risk of genetics accounts for only 5% of breast cancers.

The biggest risks are lifestyle, namely being overweight, drinking, lack of exercise and smoking.

This table shows the risks of each relative to the baseline risk.

www.menopausematters.co.uk/pdf/Understanding%20Risk%20of%20Breast%20Cancer.pdf

Thank you ladies for your replies. Lots of interesting thoughts there. Sadly my mother passed away from breast cancer aged 58.
She never went through a natural menopause as she had a hysterectomy aged 40 x