NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
Younger women who are thrust
into menopause because of
breast cancer treatment may
get some relief from talk
therapy and regular exercise, a new study from the
Netherlands suggests. Symptoms including hot flashes
and vaginal dryness often come
on gradually for women who go
through natural menopause, as
the body's production of
hormones slowly dwindles. But that's not often the case for
women who are diagnosed
with breast cancer before
menopause and treated with
chemotherapy and other potent
drugs. "Oftentimes with women with
breast cancer who experience
treatment-induced menopause,
the symptoms are much more
severe than in natural
menopause," said Neil Aaronson from The Netherlands
Cancer Institute in Amsterdam,
who worked on the study. What's more, those women
shouldn't take replacement
hormones - an effective but
controversial treatment for
menopause-related symptoms -
because they can put them at risk of a cancer recurrence. For the new study, Aaronson
and his colleagues randomly
assigned 422 women with
breast cancer and treatment-
induced menopause to one of
four groups. One group went to six weekly
therapy sessions, another
consulted with physiotherapists
and started tailored exercise
programs, a third did both
therapy and exercise and the final group was put on a
waitlist. The type of group treatment,
known as cognitive behavioral
therapy, included relaxation
exercises and addressed
symptoms as well as body
image and sexuality issues. Six months later, women in the
talk therapy, exercise and
combined groups reported an
improvement in treatment-
related symptoms, each gaining
about five points on a 73-point scale compared to less than
two points among waitlisters. Women who'd had therapy also
said they were bothered less by
their hot flashes and night
sweats - but had them just as
often, according to findings
published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "With the cognitive behavioral
therapy, we were primarily
targeting the subjective
experience of the symptoms,
and helping women to cope
with the symptoms," Aaronson told Reuters Health. One in eight women in the U.S.
will be diagnosed with breast
cancer at some point, according
to the National Cancer
Institute. A woman's chance of
being diagnosed in her 40s is one in 68. For women who have been
treated for breast cancer and
have menopause-related
symptoms, antidepressants and
other medications may also
offer some relief. But by that point, Aaronson said, many
women aren't interested in
taking any more drugs or
dealing with any more
potential side effects. He and his colleagues are
working on translating the
therapy sessions into an online
program that people can do on
their own time. Most women in
the current study weren't able to attend all of the sessions or
get all of their recommended
exercise, he said - likely
because they were young and
had children and jobs
competing for their time. "More research is needed on
behavioral interventions such
as relaxation therapy and
cognitive behavioral therapy to
understand more about how
these things are helpful and for whom," Debra Barton from the
Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minnesota told Reuters Health
in an email. "However, the data
so far appear very promising." Barton, who co-wrote an
editorial accompanying the
new study, said women in this
position should talk with their
doctors about exercise and
therapy options to find a plan that's best for them. "The thing that is important for
women to keep in mind, is that
behaviors, if not practiced or
utilized, will not be beneficial
in the same way that
medications not taken will not help," Barton added. "It is
important that women think
through the ‘how' and ‘when' of
using any behavioral strategy,
make a definite plan and stick
to the routine in order to maximize any benefit."