Hormone replacement therapy AGAIN makes news with serious health risks

Nothing to celebrate

It’s nearly 10 years now.

In July 2002, alarm bells started ringing — loud and long. That was the summer the Women’s Health Initiative abruptly stopped a massive hormone replacement therapy (HRT) study.

When researchers linked synthetic HRT use to a sharply increased risk of invasive breast cancer, there was only one thing to do. They shut it down.

Since then, not a single year has gone by without more bad news about HRT.

Increased risk of heart attack, stroke, dementia, and ovarian cancer — all of these have been associated with HRT.

So here we are, nearly 10 years later. These drugs are still on the market, still used by many women. And just like clockwork, we have yet another new warning.

It makes you wonder if there are any responsible adults monitoring this insane train wreck of a “therapy.”

If there are, it’s long past time for them to step in and say, “Stop!”

Danger upon danger

Synthetic HRT has always had two sides.

On one side, women take a combination of estrogen and progestin. The progestin is necessary to prevent uterine cancer. As red flags go, that’s a huge tip off that serious dangers lurk.

On the other side, women who have had hysterectomies take only estrogen.

Researchers once believed that HRT dangers were slight for these women. But in 2010, five or more years of estrogen use was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

Now we know the danger is much greater.

In a new study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, researchers found that breast cancer risk increased significantly after 10 years of estrogen-only HRT use. This risk nearly doubled after 15 years of use.

In a HealthDay News report on this study, I was amazed to find this quote: “”The jury is still out on how safe estrogen alone is, but I am not recommending it.”

What’s amazing about that quote is the source. It comes from Dr. Larry Norton, medical director of New York’s Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center. Dr. Norton is also the deputy physician-in-chief for breast cancer programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Those are seriously mainstream credentials. So if Dr. Norton is saying “Stop” to estrogen-only treatment, it’s time for everyone to say, “Stop.”

And he added this: “Alternative treatments may help treat the symptoms and risks associated with menopause, so why take the chance?”

Dr. Norton didn’t elaborate, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that he may have been talking about bioidentical HRT.

As I’ve mentioned many times, bioidentical hormones (derived from estrogen-like plant compounds) are identical to natural hormones in the body. This method is a little more involved than synthetic HRT. It requires a doctor who can accurately measure your hormone levels, and then write a unique prescription for a compounding pharmacist.

In other words, it’s the opposite of a one-size-fits-all synthetic drug.

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine reports that bioidentical therapy for menopause safely improves sleep, mood, libido, concentration, memory, muscle strength, bone density — all while reducing hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.

You can find more information about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy here, in a free special report published by HSI.

Sources: 
“Long-Term Estrogen Therapy Does Up Breast Cancer Risk: Study” Denise Mann, HealthDay News, 4/1/12, healthday.com