HRT Research News

[jhogan]

Is anyone else as livid as I am over all of this media attention being given to the dangers of hormone replacement therapy as it relates to an increased risk of getting breast cancer?
I read a great post on The Today Show web page dedicated to the issue that served as a reminder that the hormone medications the doctors are prescribing cannot be called hormone replacement therapy as they are not natural and do not replace anything in our bodies, they only mimic the effects of the natural hormones. This post came from a woman who had a need for hormone therapy and was dedicated to using only natural hormones.
Anyhow, my rant stems from the fact that the media and their medical experts are reporting on this issue as if it applies only to menopausal and post-menopausal women. What about women who suffer from the disease of endometriosis and other gynecological disorders that sometimes require hormone therapy and other times result in uneducated doctors throwing hormones at them for lack of better knowledge of how to treat the disease? I want to know if there are any considerations and/or recommendations for the women who eat estrogen, progestin, and other pharmaceutical hormones that are now reported to increase the risk of breast cancer just to get through a single day without curling up in a ball with a heating pad and a bottle of Advil?
Has anyone heard any mention of how the old and the new research on this issue relates to us? One day I do hope that endometrisosis is as much of a cause as breast cancer. I am not belittling the seriousness of breast cancer with its need for chemo and its mortality rate, but, why is it so taboo to rally publicly for endo in an attempt to raise awareness and push medical professionals and researchers to become motivated to do work that sheds more light on endometriosis and other gynecological disorders that are currently labeled and described as "incurable", "mysterious", "cause unknown",
manageable depending upon severity", etc.
The new research findings about hormone therapy drugs should be expanded in scope to include ALL women who have a need for pharmaceutical hormones, and the medical community involved in the research or reporting on the research need to be able to address the issue of hormone therapy alternatives for each sect of women that are affected.
I am outraged that my physicians have NEVER had a conversation with me about the risk I take by using hormone therapy as a disease management technique for endometriosis, endometrial polyps, ovarian cysts, and heavy bleeding. I have a right to make informed decisions about my health care. I have even been told by a gynecologist that I "had to take hormone therapy to control my disease." I had elected to use holistic methods prior to that because the pharmaceutical hormones make me FEEL BADLY!

Looking for feedback and comments, would love to hear from everyone on this matter!

[Karen]

I have a lot to say on this (and am, too, pissed abbout the media's selective coverage), but want to stress that the studies about breast cancer risk pertain to synthetic estrogen (I beleive prempro specifically, though I could be mistaken). Although I suspect there are some women with endo on short-term estrogen therapy for various reasons, most of us are only on pregstin treatment. Though progestins certainly have their risks (and I'm super leery of them), the cancer link pertains to estrogen therapy.

As I said, I have lots more to say but will post when I'm not at work. It'll be a good discussion, thanks for bringing it up!

[JC]

Yeah I have a lot to say about this too. It's very frustrating. There actually is research going on about this but the media is very selective to what they report. I actually feel the same frustration about breast cancer having so much attention. I know that breast cancer is a very very awful thing to have, but there are so many devastating diseases out there and we have dedicated an entire month to only one. I feel like it has become trendy to be doing all this pink stuff and "raising awareness." It's like a fashion statement now. I don't know... I don't want to get too off topic and offend people but I feel your frustration. Just know that there really is some research going on, it's just not as fashionable as breast cancer. I'll have to dig up some research articles and post them.

[jhogan]

Thanks for the replies ladies, I look forward to learning more about this topic. Ranting is always good, but in hindsight, I guess I could have spent that time reading and researching.

[JC]

It feels good to rant!!! Get it out! Things get so damn frustrating, if we spent all this time being pragmatic without venting our feelings, we'd probably all lose our minds! LOL

[Karen]

Which reminds me, I have a lot still to unload on this... Damn, too busy these days! But keep reminding me, would love to share and get other's opinions!

[cherry]

The media are asses when it comes to health reports, they're only useful for covering breakthroughs or unfair medical cover (postcode lottery etc) but they don't even do that right.
Endo in the media is always laughable.

[Karen]

Here's the thing about the media coverage regarding HRT... The studies that came out did not find that ALL HRT results in higher breast cancer rates, it just studied Premarin + Provera (typical combo for menopausal women) and determined them to be risky. So the media completely sensationalized this one study (though similar studies came to similar conclusions back in the 90s, though they weren't as widely circulated) and generalized that ALL HRT is bad. That's not necessarily true!

In addition, some of the facts that these reports threw around were astronomical but COMPLETELY taken out of context. According to a summary of the study I read (though someone can prove me wrong if incorrect) stated that HRT was only responsible for an additional 4 cases of breast cancer out of 1000 women. That's still 4 more people than otherwise and shouldn't be scoffed at, but it's not as significant as the media made it out to be...

THE MOST INTERESTING THING (I think) is that in our bodies, we produce three types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol, and estriol. Two of those types (estrone & estradiol) can promote cancer growth because they promote cell division. Guess what? These are the two types of synthetic estrogen used in the typical HRT estrogen replacement meds out there (Premarin, EstraDerm, Estrace). But, estriol is excluded from these drugs... which is extremely stupid as estriol BLOCKS cell proliferation and protects against cancer in the breast and other estrogen-rich areas!! Apparantly, estriol is the go-to HRT drug in Europe. Not here, though! In fact, the FDA banned the use of estriol (though I don't know if it has been reversed or not... My compounding pharmacy has it listed on their website as something they provide). Why? It wasn't in any approved drug, and they were responding to a complaint from the makers of Prempro!! But, the FDA acknowledged that there have been no adverse side effects reported of it. How freaking stupid is that???

So, yeah, I'm angry at the media for sensationalizing things. And I'm bummed that they give ALL HRT a bad name. Natural HRT that mimics what your body is actually supposed to do is so much better, but because of the media attention, it's often scoffed at - claims that it's not safe, not effective, etc. But look at the alternative - synthetic hormones can do awful things to us!

So, yes, I get angry when the go-to answer for endo is just pump us full of synthetic hormones. Who's to say that in a few years, another big study isn't going to come out and tell the world how awful some of these drugs really are? And THEN what options will women with endo be given? So many doctors would be dumb-founded!

I'm getting most of my info from one or two sources (Life Extension Revolution by Philip Lee Miller, + online sources here and there), so if you have something that proves me wrong, please jump into the discussion!

(Sorry if this reply was all over the place - I had a lot to say but having a hard time focusing today!)