Post-Menopause Bleeding & Femara: Potential Causes & Concerns

Question
My friend is 49 and was diagonsed with breast cancer in 2000.  Since then she went through Chemo and radiation and has been cancer free since 2001.  She stopped having regular periods in 2000.  She has them maybe once a year or year and a half since then.  The last one was in July of 2005.  She just started one last night.  The doctor just put her on Femara.  Could Femara cause the bleeding?  Also, she was taking Tamoxfien for last 5 years.  She stopped taking this in 2005.  When the bleeding occured while she was on Tamoxfien the doctor gave her an Endometrial biopsy which was negative.  Any advice would be appreciated.


Answer
Your friend appears not to have reached menopause yet. Once she goes an entire 12 months without a period, we say that she is menopausal. Menopause is defined as the date of the last period. The Tamoxifen can occasionally cause hyperplasia of the uterus, but if an endometrial biopsy was done and it was negative, you do not hafe to worry. Until she reaches menopause, she will have occasional spotting.