[Becky]

The jury is out on what "chemo" brain really is. Is it really lack of estrogen (since estrogen does decrease since most women do stop their menses during chemo). It is a fact that "chemo" brain happens to many women during menopause (cancer or not). So, I think lack of estrogen is certainly a much bigger contributor than we think.

That said, tamoxifen can either help or fuel these symptoms. An ooph (or natural menopause) with an AI certainly won't help.

I will say however, I had the big symptom of "not being able to find the right word" and other tasks that were simple. This got alittle better after Herceptin was completed (and I did get an ooph to go right to an AI). Either the end of Herceptin treatment or just adjusting to the no/low estrogen state helped. I am feeling more and more like my old self (even though it is almost 3 years now) and factually, I am also 3 years older too (but am still feeling pretty normal).

Have your onc or gyne run your LH, FSH and estradiol to see where you are at. Lupron or zoladex injections with an AI can be a much better alternative (treatment wise) than tamoxifen.