Why is my bone health important after being treated for breast cancer?

Why is my bone health important after being treated for breast cancer?

With regards to what to expect from breast cancer, and to why bone health after treatment for breast cancer is important, there are a number of different reasons. One reason is that if a woman is premenopausal before receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer, chemotherapy can sometimes induce menopause, and basically shut the ovaries down. When this happens, there's a dramatic decrease in circulating estrogens, and estrogens are the main hormones that increase bone density. So, when the estrogen levels decrease, the bone density can rapidly decrease as well, and women can develop premature osteoporosis. This process is the thinning of the bones which can put them at increased risk for fracture. Also, breast cancer is a hormonally sensitive cancer, and for women with hormone receptive positive breast cancers, they may require hormonal medications. These medications may also block estrogen and weaken the bones too. Therefore it's important for a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer to make sure that her physician is checking her bones, her bone density and that she is getting both adequate Vitamin D and calcium in her diet.