When menopause happens naturally, it's a gradual process in which estrogen production slows over time. By contrast, ovarian cancer surgery can thrust a woman into menopause within a day or two. The suddenness of her transition to menopause caught Araceli Rubi off guard.
Though her doctor had warned her that she would go into early menopause, "I didn't know what I was expecting," says the stage I ovarian cancer survivor from Memphis, Tennessee. Her immediate response was, "'Ok, what's going on? What's this?'"
Read MoreRelearning Everything
Being thrust into menopause at an early age required Rubi to make some significant life changes very quickly. "I had to relearn how to live everything," she says. "The way that I eat, what I drink, everything." Lifestyle changes may be one way to combat hot flashes and night sweats. For example, avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and spicy foods can help lessen the severity of these occurrences. Keeping the bedroom cool, dressing in light clothing, and exercising have also been shown to help."My body had to get adjusted…not to have any more hormones," she says.
Saying No to Hormones
Hormone therapy is one very effective way to relieve menopause symptoms, but some doctors are hesitant to prescribe it out of concern that it might cause a relapse of ovarian cancer.
Although this link hasn’t been proven, Rubi made the personal decision not to take hormones. "I was like, 'I don’t want [any] part of that,'" she says. Instead, she gave her body time to adjust to its new, estrogen-free state. It wasn't an easy transition. "It was just horrible, because I did have bad mood swings," she recalls.
"Emotional Train Wreck"
That period of time was a difficult one for both Rubi, and her children. She says she was an "emotional train wreck of menopause, of chemo, of everything going on at the same time."
Rubi realized that her own fragile emotional state was affecting her children, too. She would suddenly come to the realization that, "'I'm being horrible right now. I need to stop.'"
Fortunately, her kids understood what she was going through, and they supported her all the way. "They knew that that wasn’t me," Rubi says. "They would be like, 'We understand you don’t have hormones. It's okay. We love you.'"
"That’s the kind of support that anyone that’s going through any type of cancer needs," she adds.
Good Days and Bad Days
Rubi came to realize that ovarian cancer treatment is a journey. There are good days, and there are bad days. No matter how hard things get, she's learned to "always have a good attitude about it."
Ovarian cancer has brought undeniable challenges to Rubi's life, but it has also taught her some valuable lessons that she now shares with others. "Never lose hope," she says. "You can do it."
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