The benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) often outweigh the risks. Recent evidence indicates that the risks of serious side effects from HRT are very low. Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trials conducted in the U.S. They were designed to study cardiovascular risk, and the UK's Million Women Study (MWS) investigated the risk of breast cancer in women using different types of hormone replacement therapy.
Over the past 15 years, these studies, and others, have found little or no evidence that hormonal hormone therapy reduces risk of heart disease. In fact, they have found evidence of a higher risk of blood clots and strokes. They also found a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women using hormone replacement therapy. Most of the effects of HRT (positive and negative) are seen while women are taking it and go away once they stop taking it.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of cases of breast cancer have been prevented worldwide in the last decade due to the decline in the use of hormone replacement therapy. It's important to know that they're not against HRT because they want you to feel uncomfortable. Not all alternatives to hormone replacement therapy have been scientifically proven, but many people find them useful. Hormone replacement therapy can also help with bone loss (osteoporosis and osteopenia), a common condition in women who don't have enough estrogen.
The benefits and risks of taking hormone replacement therapy depend on your age, menopausal symptoms, and any risk factors that you have. Talk to your healthcare provider about cancer, heart disease and stroke when considering the benefits and risks of HRT. The risks are different for each person and are influenced by factors such as personal medical history, age, duration of hormone therapy, dosage and type of therapy. You can lower your risk of breast cancer if you don't take hormone therapy for longer than necessary to control symptoms.
For some years, prescribing guidelines have been in agreement that HRT should not be used to prevent long-term illness, but should be used in the short term to alleviate symptoms. of menopause. Other conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, fractures and ovarian cancer, also have different patterns of association with different forms of hormone therapy, making the picture much more complex than it initially seemed. If you are considering taking hormone therapy, the Canadian Cancer Society recommends that you talk to your healthcare provider about how hormone therapy can alleviate menopausal symptoms and about your individual risks.
However, it is likely that many other women have avoided inadequate treatment with hormone therapy and have increased their risk of breast cancer and other conditions, as a result of new evidence accumulated over the past 15 years. If you're under 60, have menopausal symptoms, and aren't at high risk of breast cancer or blood clots, the benefits of hormone therapy are likely to outweigh the risks. Hormone replacement therapy may still be useful in relieving menopausal symptoms in the short term if other treatments don't work and the symptoms are severe.
