Companion: Treatments for Hot Flashes

MAMM, March, 2003 by Sue Rochman

At 44, Debbie Stafford hadn't really given much thought to hot flashes. But being treated for breast cancer in November 2001 soon changed that. First, chemotherapy put Stafford into premature menopause, and then she began taking tamoxifen. As a result, says Stafford, "I went from not knowing what a hot flash was to having 12 to 15 hot flashes a day."

Self-conscious at work, unable to sleep and uncomfortable all the time, Stafford turned to her oncologist for help. That's how she learned about a clinical trial exploring whether the antidepressant Paxil could reduce hot flashes. Initially, she was apprehensive. "I didn't really need an antidepressant," Stafford says, "and I just didn't know if I wanted to take another drug." But by the time the trial was over, Stafford says...