Women on menopause therapy more likely to develop advanced cancer, die, study says
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comHormones may raise breast cancer death risk
Seeded on Tue Oct 19, 2010 4:38 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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It is unfortunate that this article does not address estrogen replacement without progestin which did not give an increased risk of breast cancer according to the initial report of the Women's Health Initiative. Many women will think that this shows that estrogen replacement increases the risk for breast cancer which is not correct. The progestin component is critical to any adverse affects of hormone replacement on the breast. Too little attention is paid to the diversity in formulation and dosage of the progestin. The results of the Women's Health Initiative were very reassuring to those women on estrogen who do not require progestin with no increased incidence of breast cancer noted.
Thanks for the extra info. Can you give insight as to why progestin is part of some HRT formulations in the first place; what extra benefit does it confer over only estrogen?
Heather, that information can be found on the Internet. I think I read that estrogen alone increases the risk of uterine cancer in women who obviously still have a uterus, but not in women who have had hysterectomies. I went through menopause with psych meds. Yes, antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. They, too, can decrease the symptoms of mood swings, hot flashes, etc.
What about the added hormones in the beef, pork and chicken, what about the hormones rbST in milk?
Eat a natural macrobiotic diet and endure the symptoms of menopause. Red clover tea and St John's wort tincture are very good for any woman's maladies. I know being an older woman who uses natural diet and exercise to control HORRIBLE MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS. The cures of nature work.
I've been wondering lately if the estrogen will also cause cancer in transgendered individuals, who must take hormones for their entire lives. But in response to the person claiming to be a doctor -- according to more than a few studies, estrogen alone will also increase the cancer rate:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10393721 There were others, but that was the first in the search results and cited by over 300 journals. And for a real doctor to suggest that a hysterectomy is a small matter with insignificant effects is quite negligent. That actually causes all sorts of other problems.
Thanks Brenda. I am still in my child-bearing years; was curious about others take on these. I know of plenty of women who used low dose antidepressants/anxiolytics to get through menopause too.
Thanks Dr Johnston for answering my question about estrogen, before I asked it. I have been taking estrodiol for 14 years, I'm 56. I've tried to ween myself off several times and always end up continuing to take it. I just feel better all around, no hot flashes, night sweats or mood swings. I got very little sleep when triing to get off them. Is there a time frame when I should stop taking them?
Please read this book...."Menopause, what your doctor might not tell you". This is written by a doctor in laymans terms which covers not only puberty but post menopause and everything inbetween. He goes into hormones, petroleum products and the effects, enviroment and HRT. This is an excellent read and very informative. I followed his advise and I cruised through perimenopause and am now in menopause and doing just fine. Good luck.
This is old news isn't it.. "It's not nice to fool mother nature." I don't think any HRT is safe regardless of what studies were done.. and you can add birth control pills into the mix as well. IMHO.
DUH!!!! And what do you think all those harmones the chemical companies are putting in our crops is doing to our young people.
What are 'harmones?'
Well at least we know one thing it's doing to them/you...not knowing how to spell check their posts.
Thanks James. Seems all you have to offer is a simple mind to to show off your abilities to read. I can spell, but we all make mistakes. If you have any other intelligent offerings, please do so.
I thought HARMones was just a pun. good one Dgibb.
Wonder if they take all the Hormones that the Factory Farms put into our food into account? These Farms needs to go.
Does this include bioidentical hormones?
I'm curious. Within this study, how many women taking hormone replacements had had a complete and total hysterectomy prior to starting hormone replacement therapy. Does this make a difference if these women are without uterus and ovaries?
I was wondering the same thing.
Just another scam by the drug companies. In my mother's time, she took estrogen because they said it was safe. She spent the last 5 years of her life an invalid with no bone structure left. In my lifetime, they said "oh, just take this with progesterone added to it and it will be safe." I spent 10 years on HRT and now I have even one more worry to add to the worries about breast cancer and other cancers. When is the world going to wake up, (I already did), and quit consuming these man-made chemicals - the drug companies are liars. The FDA is made up of paid-off liars and cheats. It's all about the "buck" and they want it in their pockets so bad, they will do anything to get everything you have.
much of HRT is not "man made" - as one poster noted, it's from pregnant mares - that's pregnant mare urine (pre mar in). this is factory farming at its worst, inhumane conditions, just as cows/ goats/ sheep are forced to pump their milk - for humans, and their babies (veal, lamb) are factory farmed in horrible conditions too, so are foals discarded, cruelly transported to slaughter, and their spent mothers sent to slaughter thereafter. all because women cannot be uncomfortable for even a few moments. check out this on the internet - horse slaughter, united animal nations, many more sources. please please consider this before falling for yet another pharmaceutical supposed magic pill.
Cannabis is all natural and great for soothing pain away. The drug companies don't want to see it legalized. Mother nature is the best remedy.
I am a 57 year old post-menopausal woman who takes 1 mg. of estradiol every day not for menopausal symptoms but because I am at a high risk for osteoporosis.
My doctor and I have had several discussions regarding the risks of getting breast cancer. Her response has been that the benefits of taking this low dose of estrogen out way the risks of getting cancer.
I'm still not sure if it is the progesterone in combination with the estrogen that is the culprit or if ANY estrogen is detrimental to a woman's health.
Will the news please cover the entire story and not scare women. This study was done on women who were taking Premarin --estrogen from pregnant mares--not estradiol that most women, including me, now take with my doctor's blessing. Also, as I understand it, the real risk for women who took Premarin was in the beginning years--not long term and not estrogen other than premarin.
does this danger include bioidentical hormones?
You are not taking all medical situations into consideration. I am 51-years of age and have a complete (removal of uterus and BOTH ovaries) hysterectomy in my 30's. I have been taking hormones as a replacement for no longer having the body parts to produce hormones. I am NOT taking them because of menopause. Over the years, my doctor decreased my hormone dosage based on my age.
Your study does not apply to my case and many other women in the same situation. If I were not taking hormone REPLACEMENT (not additional as these other women are doing) then I would be at a greater risk or Osteoporosis among other things.
So, please remember my minority group when you frighten her husbands who don't always have a clue. And please make note of our situation which is quite different from the women going through menopause that you studied.
Thank you, Sybil Brown
Thanks for posting this Sybil. I am 38 and underwent a total ovariohysterectomy 4 years ago. Like an idiot I initially refused to take HRT because of the media not giving all the information on these studies. I was downing pounds of yams, soy products and herbals recommended for menopause relief, the only result was needing to shower and change clothes at least three times a day plus daily sheet changes thanks to the hotflashes and sweating, We won't go into the fall out of dealing with the high fiber content of these "natural remedies" not to mention my husband virtuallly living in his workshop out of fear of being targeted during one of the dozen or so mood swings every day brought or it may also have been due to the before mentioned high fiber natural supplements, the jury is still out on that detail.
After a year of this self torture I reluctantly started taking Estratest and within a week had my life back.
This article does not address WHAT type of hormones they were taking....are we speaking of synthetically produced hormones?
I completed treatment for breast cancer 3 months ago. I was given massive doses of estrogen and progesterone just before a complete hysterectomy and over 15 years after. The cancer was "estrogen fed". I just want all women out there to be VERY aware of any and all changes in their bodies and get checked out on a regular basis. There is help out there if you can't afford it.
I also want to say you guys are not immune to this either.
Really, I'm sitting here thinking that no genuine doctor would be giving medical advice on the internet. Unless he's the male pediatrician I did indeed google. Male doctors tend to love ripping out the uterus of women for any reason whatsoever. They call the procedure hysterectomy because it was believed that removing the uterus made women LESS HYSTERICAL.
Handers, you are right, but it's not just male doctors who think hysterectomy equals hysteria. I heard a woman doctor on Dr. Oz not look ago say the same thing. I couldn't believe some supposedly, well trained doctor, and a woman at that, would believe that today.
what about women who are only taking estrogen alone not a combined treatment is the risk higher for these women also for breast cancer
WE ARE THE GUINEA PIGS HERE FOLKS and have been for years. The AMA does not want to find a cure for cancer when they are a profit driven industry and are making record profits off the suffering that some of their widely used treatments have help cause. The American Cancer society is always begging for money to find a cure and guess what they are rich in funds. They will find partial cures but cures that require costly treatment that people have to keep repeating until it kills them. The AMA is nothing more than another corrupt business that gags any physician who steps out and actually tries to be a healer. I've seen it. This is the ugly side of Capitalism. The good side of Capitalism is creative problem solving and improves our standard of living not takes away from it or destroys it due to greed.
My wife was on HRT for 15 years and developed advanced stage breast cancer. There is no history of breast cancer in her immediate family. The only thing that I can see different is the HRT. Her doctor prescribed it and annual check ups detected nothing amiss. But an abnormality appeared in her left breast that was a malignant tumor. She's now had a mastectomy, gone through chemo, and is on Femara. The cancer had spread to some lymph nodes but her skin is so damaged that radiation is out of the question. I wish this issue could be resolved once and for all for future generations of women.
Im into about the 2nd year of menopause and have survived without any meds except on occasion a sleeping aid. Its not fun but its not that bad. The hot flashes are the worst but they go away for awhile, then come back. Its just something you have to put up with for awhile. It wont kill you. Try to find a way to get thru it without meds.
im also in my 2nd yr of menopause at 56 yrs old and got thru those rotten hot flashes by just closing my eyes and imagining i was lying on a beach on a hot summer day and the sun was heating my face. just try to do this and the hotflash doesn't last all that long.it's uncomfortable at times and inconvienient but i would try anything before i would take any meds to control something i would not or could not get pass with a bit of patience. i have had hot flashes now for almost 2 years but you know,we just need to deal with it. you're stronger than you realize ladies. i also had airconditioner on and fans in the bedroom for three of the seasons.
Is the "study" certified by the FDA? Or is it backed by some unknown "interested party"?
i would like to ask if the risk of breast cancer for women who take bio-identical estrogen and progestrone is there or not, like it is for the women who take hormones from the drug companies that are on the market now.
thank you, chris deffes
The same rule applies to birth control pills (World Health Organization lists them as Class 1 carcinogens), so beware.
Women always take the risks be it breast cancer post menopause HRT, or female reproductive cancers for birth control. I think it's time for research to study viable birth control for men...and I am ashamed the drug companies have not had to pay a penny to any breast cancer victims like the tobacco companies had to pay smokers who knew they were playing russian roulette with their health...of course women lose again!
This "Study" waas done using Premarin, an estrogen containing hormone derived from the Urine of Pregnant Mares , hence the Name PREgnant MARes urINe. It contains three different estrogens that are NOT natural to the human body. Estradiol is a BIO-IDENTICAL hormone and IS natural to the human body. ProgesterINE is another SYNTHETIC Hormone and again is NOT natural to the human body and can cause many side effects. ProgeterONE is bio-identical and is natural to the human body. They DID NOT use the Bio-Identical hormones in this study so it's completely flawed.
For those that ARE transsexual (NOT Transgendered ) both estrodial AND ProgesterONE are required for balance as the body no longer is able to produce any significant level of testosterone and the person can develop a loss of bone mass and other problems including hot flashes and irritability. The chance of breast cancer in a TS person is extremely rare, no higher than the normal incidence of breast cancer in men.
I hope this report clarifys that these are synthetic hormones they are talking about and not bio-identical hormones, big difference!!! ~ Breast Cancer Survivor
I remember getting some hot flashes at work. The fellows I worked with would just smile, when I made a fan out of a piece of paper and waved it super speed, back and forth for about 15 minutes till it passed. My GYN gave me a script for hormones to help my through, and I bought them. However, I thought about both my grandmothers. One a farmers wife with 11 children, and the other with 5 children and she worked at GE in the factory. They both lived to be 100. No hormones, just hard work, a lot of praying, homemade cookies and smiles for all the grandchildren. They kept the family fused together all their lives. Sure, the dark haired grandma had a couple of long black hairs on her face, but she was a BEAUTIFUL woman in my eyes. I knew they made it through the hot flashes etc. without hormones, and figured I was part of them, so I could be a strong woman too. The symptoms passed with time and I just considered them a part of life. Am keeping my eyes out for a stray hair or two, LOL, but at 70 nothing yet. Am not saying some people, who are disabled by menapause symptoms shouldn't try something for relief. However, it's a natural experience of aging, and we should at least try to get through it like the strong women that came before us. Just my humble opinion.
This is really not new info. They've known this for at least 20 years.