Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are caused by hormonal changes that interfere with your body’s ability to lower its temperature. If you’ve been treated for breast cancer or prostate cancer, your hormone levels have been affected, and there is a good chance that you will experience hot flashes at some point.

You’ll know you are having a hot flash because your face and upper body will get hot, red, and sweaty. Your heart will beat faster, dilating your blood vessels. This circulates more blood, which causes more heat. Your sweat glands then give off more perspiration in an effort to cool your body.

Sometimes chemotherapy causes sudden menopause (known as chemotherapy-induced menopause). This can bring on hot flashes. In addition, hormonal treatment of breast cancer with drugs, including tamoxifen, Arimidex^® (anastrozole), or Femara^® (letrozole) can also cause hot flashes. Men who are being treated with hormonal therapy for prostate cancer can also experience hot flashes. Lupron^® and Eligard^® (leuprolide), Zoladex^® (goserelin), Trelstar^® (triptorelin pamoate), and Vantas (histrelin)^® are hormone-blocking medications that can cause hot flashes.

Tips for Managing Hot Flashes

• Dress in layers of cotton clothing—daytime clothing and sleepwear.
• Keep your home or workplace at a cool temperature.
• Keep ice water handy.
• Take a cool shower.
• Try deep-breathing exercises.
• Consider acupuncture or yoga.
• Talk to your doctor about the medications Neurontin^® (gabapentin), Effexor-XR^® (venlafaxine), or Paxil^® (paroxetine), or other drugs in the family of agents called SSRIs.