‘Absolutely Fabulous’ Star Jennifer Saunders, 64, Opens Up About ‘Brutal’ Menopause from Breast Cancer Treatment: ‘No One Had Warned Me’

“It was quite brutal,” Saunders recently recalled to Saga Magazine of what she experienced due to her estrogen-blocking treatment. “Especially because no one had warned me.”

The abrupt transition into menopause can be tough, and it was admittedly difficult for the TV star.

“I don’t think they quite understand how that mentally affects you,” Saunders said. “You don't quite know what you should feel like, so you think, ‘Is this depression? I don’t know. I just feel angry.'”

Saunderswho resides in Chagford, UK with her husband of 37 years, actor Abe Edmondsonwas treated with six months of chemotherapy, and detailed her journey further in her 2013 autobiography, Bonkers: My Life In Laughs.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jennifer Saunders (@ferrifrump)

“There are times when you want to cry all day,” the mom-of-three described of going through treatment. “My lowest point came when I lost all my hair; every eyelash, every follicle… I felt chemical. I felt like a chemical.”

When a rash broke out over her face, she sunk further into depression.

Related: Woman, 26, Chooses 'Early Menopause' In Her Brave Fight Against Breast Cancer

“It was horrible. I felt like a great big overgrown baby with pimples all over my face. A big, horrible, red-faced baby.”

While everyone suffers differently from emotional and physical side effector very few for the lucky onesthe drug she had to take along with chemotherapy, Tamoxifen, was unfortunately very difficult for Saunders.

What is Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer?

“You lose your motor and it makes you feel depressed,” she shared. “You have that 'I want to go to bed and sleep forever' kind of feeling.”

Fortunately, after a tough fight, Saunders went into remission, and 13 years later, is continuing to thrive today.

Saunders hosts a podcast called Titting About, with her former co-star Dawn French, where they, in true Ab Fab form, “tell rollicking tales” of their lives. And beating cancer is definitely one of them!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dani Brown (@jen_and_dawn_tittingabout)

Although Saunders suffered immensely, the battle was temporary and she made it through. There is often light at the end of what seems like a very long tunnel. Keep fighting and keep pushingyou can get through it too!

Facing Breast Cancer Treatment

We spend a lot of time talking to survivors who tell us that cancer changed them. A lot of times, it's for the better. But that doesn't mean the journey to that good place is easy. Not at all.

Survivor Carrie Kreiswirth says that she was a really social person before she was diagnosed with breast cancer. But when she was going through chemo, she says she felt like she lost a part of herself. "I was a very social person, but became a bit of a recluse at that time," Carrie says. "It took me a very long time to start feeling like myself again. Longer than I care to admit."

It Took Me a Very Long Time to Feel Like Myself AgainAnd That's OK

Carrie says that going through cancer alone was really difficult, but dating kind of took a back seat to getting healthy during treatment. "I think for me it took so long to accept my new body the way that it was, the way that it is, that to then show that to literally expose myself to someone else is something that I haven't necessarily felt completely ready for. But I am rounding that corner, and I am more open to dating."

So how'd she get there? Carrie says it was self love. "I love myself; I love my body; it took me a very long time to get here. If someone is not OK with that, they're not for me."

Don’t Put Too Much Pressure On Yourself

Survivors tell us it's key to ask for the support you needboth mentally and spiritually as well as for your practical needs. There is life after cancer so the goal is to keep hopeful and strong, and cut yourself some slack.

Dr. Susan Parsons, Director of Survivorship Care at Tufts University, often hears "How am I going to get through this?" as one of the first questions a person will ask after a cancer diagnosis. "My advice is to take one day at a time," Dr. Parsons tells SurvivorNet, "and be kind to yourself."

Related: After Diagnosis: ‘Be Kind to Yourself’

Many of the words that we use in treating cancer are about the war, and the battle, and the sense of bravery, and the sense of courage. And that puts a lot of pressure on some people.

Contributing by SurvivorNet staff.

 

 

 

“I think as a care team, we need to give people permission to be who they are and to give them the supports they need to get through their treatment.”

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.