Can You Live a Normal Life After Breast Cancer?

Side effects of breast cancer treatment

Your treatment is over, but you may still have some physical side effects, like hair loss from chemotherapy. You may also have body image issues after breast cancer surgery.

You may also experience long-term effects from your cancer treatment. Side effects vary from person to person. Some of these include:

Fatigue

Feeling worn out or tired is a common complaint in the first year of recovery. Some ways to cope with your fatigue include:

• Asking for help or letting others help you. Friends and family may be willing to help but may not know what to do.
• Trying to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
• Taking breaks or short naps between activities.
• Planning your activities around the time of day when you’re most energetic.

Chemo brain or brain fog

“Chemo brain” is a term used to describe the memory and thinking problems that can happen during and after chemotherapy treatment. As many as 75% of cancer patients experience “chemo brain” during their treatment.

About one-third continue to have problems after treatment. Chemo brain may go away 6 to 9 months after treatment, but for some people, it may last for years.

Fertility

Radiation and hormone therapy, as well as chemotherapy, may have an effect on your reproductive system and fertility:

Some chemotherapy drugs can stop your regular menstrual periods (amenorrhea). In a study of 1,043 female cancer survivors aged 20 to 35, 31.6% had amenorrhea. Within two years of treatment, though, most of them (70%), resumed their periods.

Women who were over 30 years old when diagnosed with cancer are more likely to have irregular periods after their temporary amenorrhea. This may be a sign of ovary damage or early menopause (perimenopause).

If you plan to have children after treatment, talk to your doctor and a fertility specialist about your options. You may want to store your eggs before breast cancer treatment. After treatment, the eggs can be implanted into your uterus.

Some drugs may protect your ovaries from chemotherapy damage and help you preserve your fertility. These include goserelin, leuprolide, and triptorelin.