Q: My periods stopped 4 years ago. I am now 57 years. One week back I experienced for about 5 days symptoms which are normally felt a few days before the onset of periods-pain in the breasts. No lumps were felt by self examination. Now I am normal. Why did this happen and is it a normal feature? Please clarify.

A:Hormones in the blood continue to be present for some years after periods have stopped and this is the reason why some women continue to feel symptoms of menstruation well after their periods have stopped. Pain in the breast is also experienced by many women before their periods and is not a sign of breast cancer. I would suggest that you should not worry about this. Nevertheless, since you got your symptoms after 4 years, it might be worth consulting a gynaecologist to exclude any gynaecological problem.