Yahoo Lifestyle HRT Linked to Breast Cancer
For decades, doctors confidently prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to ease the symptoms of menopause. It was a cure-all pill that could stop hot flushes, reduce your risk of heart disease, breast cancer and osteoporosis, as well as fend off memory problems. It sounded sensible, modern and completely harmless...
But the party came to a shocking end in July 2002, when the Women’s Health Initiative (a study of women aged 50-79 conducted by the National Institutes of Health in the US) released initial results linking these synthetic hormones to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and even breast cancer.
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At the time, women abandoned HRT en masse. Now, 10 years after the announcement, doctors are re-evaluating the landscape. “There’s been a great deal of intensive research into the data that came out of the study. We now know that HRT is safe for women to use at the time when they’re having symptoms. We have better knowledge about who will benefit from HRT and who should avoid it,” says Dr Christine Read, sexual health physician and honorary secretary of the Australasian Menopause Society.
HRT may be a good solution for women in their 50s or younger experiencing menopausal symptoms. “Generally, we’re not starting women over 60 on HRT—it’s normally geared to women in their 50s,” reveals Read. “Those who are experiencing premature menopause in their 30s or 40s can be on HRT for longer, but for most menopausal women, we ideally recommend no more than four or five years.”
So, what to do? “The anti-ageing medicine people want you to spend all your time trying not to get older,” says Dr Christiane Northrup, author of The Wisdom of Menopause. Instead, she advises just living well. “To me, 50 is the beginning of where life gets interesting, in a really good way.” Read on for the latest advice.
