Why were we and are still made to feel scared of HRT. You need to read this!
So now in 2024 there are many woman taking HRT and many of these women have found that the benefits outweigh any fears of concerns and risks. However many are still reluctant to take it. Or there are some that really would like to but their GP or healthcare professional have resisted.
The main reason why woman are still reluctant is because of that doubt that it causes breast cancer.
Her is how it all started………
In the 1960’s feminist movement an American doctor - Robert Wilson wrote a bestselling book. He was the first to recognise that the hormone deficiency that occurs during Peri/menopause could be prevented and corrected with oestrogen replacement.
In the US and Europe HRT grew in popularity over the decades and rising in the 1990’s. The majority of woman took HRT and health care professionals were happy and willing to prescribe it.
But in the early 2000’s it all changed. 1993 the womens health initiative (WHI) began a clinical trial looking at the health effects of woman taking oestrogen only or combined HRT compared to a placebo.
The type of HRT used in this trial contained oestrogen derived from pregnant horses urine and a synthetic progestogen. This is very different from the body identical HRT we now usually prescribe which has lower risk and is VERY safe.
In 2002 the combined part of the trial was halted prematurely , due to results linking HRT with breast cancer, heart disease, stroke and blood clots.
These conclusions were then leaked to the lay and medical press without the results being properly analysed first.
Later analysis of the data revealed the link with breast cancer was not statistically significant. In fact, Oestrogen only HRT was subsequently shown to be associated with a lower risk of breast cancer!!!
BUT THE DAMAGE WAS DONE……… the notion that all HRT caused breast cancer was planted firmly in women’s minds and health care professionals.
As a result of this numbers of woman taking HRT worldwide fell.
Digging deeper into the WHI trial/study found the following…….
The average age of woman in the study was 63, yet researchers wrongly generalised their conclusion to include woman entering menopause in their early 50’s
Nearly half of the participants were current or pst smokers, many had had heart disease in the past, more than a 1/3 had been treated for high blood pressure and 70% were seriously overweight or obese.
The study claimed HRT increased the risk of heart problems but the proper analysis revealed that the risk occurred only in the women who were starting it in their 70’s or older.
The investigators revised their findings 5 years after they were initially published and concluded that women who started HRT in the first 20 years following the beginning of Menopause actually reduced the risk of heart disease. BUT THIS DID’NT MAKE THE HEADLINES EITHER.
Further analysis of the study showed that there was a significantly lower risk of breast cancer in woman who took oestrogen - only HRT (so those woman who’d had a hysterectomy in the past) and a lower risk of dying from breast cancer in woman who took any type of HRT.
The risk of breast cancer in woman taking HRT with synthetic progestogen was very small and not even statistically significant.
There was a lower risk of developing colon cancer in woman who took HRT.
So after all, the benefits of HRT usually far outweigh any risk and body identical HRT containing oestrogen in the form of 17 beta-oestradiol and micronised progesterone is extremely safe,
The risks of HRT depend on the type you are given and other factors such as your age, weight, alcohol intake and whether you smoke.
This is why it is so important to have an individualised consultation, where you can discuss your actual risks.
I really wanted to share this with you.
Because I know there are many woman out there confused. Your not alone. I was confused at first but hearing the above over and over again by many different reliable sources made me realise the truth.
Any thing I learn I’m grateful I can share it with you.
Ref : Langer , R.D. Hodis, H.N, Lobo,R,A,Alison, M,A (2021)Hormone replacement - where are we now? , Climacteric , 24 (1), pp,3-10 doi: 10.1080/13697137.2020.1851183 -
Dr Newson - The definitive guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause.
