Hormone replacement therapy just keeps getting worse, and worse, and…

Just ask Chrissy

If you’re wondering who you can trust to look out for your health, maybe try a sitcom star.

No, I’m not kidding. Suzanne Somers actually knows more about your hormonal health than the FDA.

In fact, I’m pretty sure even Chrissy Snow–Somer’s ditzy blonde character on Three’s Company–would be smarter than the FDA.

If we could ask Chrissy to weigh the evidence against using synthetic HRT drugs–with the well-documented increased risks of breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, and dementia– you can imagine that she’d wonder why such dangerous drugs are still on the market.

Of course, FDA officials won’t make that move. They almost never take drugs off the market.

They appoint special panels to assess safety. They mull it over. They call for new warnings. Sometimes they even tell drug companies they have to draw a black box around the warnings! Whoa!

But when it comes to actually ordering a drug giant to shelve a life-threatening cash cow drug?

Not. Going. To. Happen.

But what if a new study were to show that breast cancer risk is significantly raised when women start taking HRT drugs right before menopause or anytime during the first five years of menopause?

Not. Going. To. Happen.

Never ever ever ever ever

The new study, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is offered up like a big deal because it gives women some guidelines for avoiding increased breast cancer risk with HRT use.

In fact, it’s just laughable.

Women take HRT to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, insomnia, etc. So when is HRT prescribed? When the symptoms start. Not FIVE YEARS after symptoms start!

The new study clearly shows that when HRT was started five years after the onset of menopause, women had little or no increased breast cancer risk. It didn’t matter if they were taking estrogen alone, or estrogen with progestin. The dose didn’t matter. The length of time using HRT didn’t matter. And their weight didn’t matter.

But if they used HRT drugs before that five-year cut off–you know, when they ACTUALLY NEEDED a treatment to address their symptoms–their breast cancer risk was high.

So the takeaway message is: Tough it out for those first five years, women, or increase your breast cancer risk.

Ludicrous.

Even Chrissy Snow could tell you that.

What the FDA won’t tell you, and what Wyeth (the maker and marketer of HRT) would rather you didn’t know, is that evidence shows bioidentical HRT may actually help prevent breast cancer.

In addition, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine reports that bioidentical therapy for menopause improves sleep, mood, libido, concentration, memory, muscle strength, bone density–all while reducing hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

You can find more information about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (including important guidelines for safe use) in this free special report published by HSI.

Sources:
“Hormone therapy begun at menopause may pose risk for breast cancer” Press release of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1/28/11, eurekalert.org
“Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy in the Anti-Aging Clinical Setting: An Official Position St” American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, 8/14/06, worldhealth.net