5 Things To Know About Ovarian Suppression

Ovarian Suppression. What even is that? Isn’t ‘suppression’ usually a bad thing? Is it as scary as it sounds?

**Pausing so you can take a nice, deep breath because — no — it doesn’t have to be scary**

It’s likely that you’ve already heard the term “Ovarian Suppression” before. That’s probably why you’re reading this blog post. But, if not, that’s okay too. We’re going to walk you through 5 FAQs about Ovarian Suppression step by step.

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1. WHAT IS OVARIAN SUPPRESSION?

Ovarian suppression (not to be confused with ovarian ablation) has to do with temporarily stopping the ovaries from producing estrogen. It’s a type of hormonal breast cancer treatment that can be used in pre-menopausal women who have hormone-receptor positive breast cancer.

2. HOW DOES THIS KIND OF TREATMENT WORK?

In order for ovarian suppression to happen, different medications called luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (or LHRH) agonists need to be taken. In other words, medications that help limit the amount of estrogen that the ovaries produce. The most common LHRH agonists used for ovarian suppression in Canada are:

• goserelin (Zoladex);
• leuprolide (Lupron, Lupron Depot, Eligard); and
• buserelin (Suprefact).

These medications are often given as an injection every month or every few months and, depending on the patient, are taken for 3 to 5 years. Once a person stops taking the medication, their ovaries typically begin to function again. However, the time it takes for this to happen can vary. According to breastcancer.org, the younger you are, the more likely that your estrogen levels and ovaries will bounce back sooner.

3. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS?

Since LHRH agonists help limit or completely stop the ovaries from producing estrogen, it is also known to cause temporary menopause along with other side effects that could affect a person’s quality of life. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, common side effects of any hormonal breast cancer therapy can include:

• hot flashes, sweating and other symptoms of treatment-induced menopause
• sexual problems (including a loss of interest in sex and/or problems becoming sexually aroused)
• weight gain
• constipation
• diarrhea
• nausea
• hair thinning (especially with exemestane and letrozole)
• osteoporosis – with aromatase inhibitors
• fatigue
• fertility problems (although ovarian suppression can help preserve fertility in younger women being treated with chemotherapy)
• abnormal vaginal discharge
  high cholesterol

4. CAN YOU GET PREGNANT DURING OVARIAN SUPPRESSION?

According to breastcancer.org, there have been instances where women have gotten pregnant even while on medications for ovarian suppression. If you are sexually active and have a male partner, it is also important to talk to your doctor about non-hormonal birth control options, such as: condoms or a non-hormonal IUD.

5. IS OVARIAN SUPPRESSION RIGHT FOR ME?

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, ovarian suppression is listed as a potential treatment for first-time occurrence, recurrence, as well as stage 4 hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. LHRH agonists can often be coupled with Tamoxifen and some studies suggest that this mix can help reduce the risk of recurrence.

If you’re a woman pre-menopause with hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, ovarian suppression could be right for you. Since it’s temporary, this kind of ovarian suppression (as opposed to ovarian ablation) is often considered by younger women who may want to have children. All this being said, the best way to find out if any breast cancer treatment is right for you is to speak with your doctor or healthcare professional.  – By Jade Griffiths