(no subject)

[amber911.livejournal.com]

Taking certain types of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can double the risk of developing breast cancer, says a study of more than a million women.

Is anyone here on HRT? Know anyone who is on HRT? Are you worried? x

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I'm on HRT, but with different hormones. :)

I think that when I finally hit menopause, though, I'm going to try to stick it out, grin and bear it. It seems safer, so far. I'll use lube for sex if I need to (I already need to, half the time).

My sister had her uterus and ovaries removed when she was 19, and was offered HRT at the time. She took it for awhile, then just let herself go through menopause in her twenties. She was happy with her decision.

[alitaorg.livejournal.com]

wow. what happened?

my mother's system completely shut down when she was given extra-strength chemotherapy for breast cancer when she was 39. she said it was a consolation prize, though, because now she's in her fifties and doesn't have to deal with menopause.

since my mom had breast cancer at such an early age and my mom's mom had ovarian cancer while in her sixties, AND since my dad also had cancer at an early age (though they believe it was because of a kidney defect), i don't think i'm going anywhere near hrt, thank you.

as for birth control increasing or decreasing the risk of cancer, who the hell knows. one gynocologist told me i had nothing to worry about at all, while another actually recommended depo (which i'm on now) because the estrogen in most birth control is what was found to possibly raise the risk. either way i'm supposed to start getting mammograms as soon as i hit thirty, which will be a blast, i'm sure. ;P

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

My sister had peritonitis that infected her organs enough to require complete removal. (She nearly died of it.)

I use condoms for birth control. The only side effect seems to be a slowly developing sensitivity to the latex, so I might switch to polyurethane.

[tyrsalvia.livejournal.com]

I can't use latex condoms. I've been very happy (er, no pun intended) with the Avanti polyeurethane ones. The only problem is if your partner tends to lose erections or not get fully hard on a regular basis, they come off pretty easily.

[foureyeddarlin.livejournal.com]

I'm not worried because I'm nowhere near menopause yet. When I reach menopause, I'll then weigh the case for and against HRT.

It is important to remember that HRT isn't the only factor in breast cancer risk, there are many - and we don't really know yet how they all interplay - including:

-previous breast cancer (if you've had breast cancer before, you are at highest risk for developing it again.)
-age (your risk increases as you age, with a dividing line at age 50 - i.e. at age 50 you are considered to have one risk factor for breast cancer because you are 50)
-age at menarche and age at menopause (before 11 and 54 and over are risk factors)
-never giving birth (carrying a pregnancy 6 months or longer count as giving birth in cases of miscarriage/stillbirth)
-giving birth after age 30
-family history of breast cancer (sister, mother, aunt, grandmother (data for more distant relatives like great aunt/cousin/niece is not conclusive.) A male family member with breast cancer is also a risk.
-family history of ovarian cancer (sister, mother, aunt)
-radiation treatment for Hodgkin's Disease

Studies have also shown that taking birth control pills (while menstruating) can decrease your risk. Studies have also shown that women who eat meat/animal fats have a greater risk than women who do not.

It is important to note, also, that according to this study risk increases with length of time taking HRT.

[thesecolours.livejournal.com]

Some studies have also shown that taking birth control pills can increase your breast cancer risk by 8% for each year they are being taken. The data from various studies seems to be all over the map - and no one can seem to come to a unanimous conclusion on anything.

And while you note that risk increases with length of time taking HRT, a recent study which was intended to last 5 years was called off after only two - that being because the results were so disturbing. Women on HRT in the study were not only developing more breast cancer and tumours than women not on HRT, the tumours were of a nature which made them nearly impossible to detect in any early phases by mammogram.

[foureyeddarlin.livejournal.com]

In large part that's why I listed various risk factors - if you're considering or on HRT you should carefully weigh your current risk factors plus the increased risk from HRT with the benefits you may receive from HRT if you're suffering from particuarly bad menopause.

[katlynel.livejournal.com]

My mother has decided against HRT, and I plan to do the same. I personally think HRT is pretty messed up. For years and years there was tons of propaganda about how menopause was a disease that needed to be treated with permanent HRT, how menopause was the end of femininity, some horrible drying-up (clearly because we value youth in this culture). Premarin comes from pregnant mare urine and the conditions are really inhumane, and the company that makes it conspired with the FDA and various government officials to keep a generic from being approved so that they could make more money. Doctors try hard to push HRT onto women (my mom had to practically fight it off).

Menopause is not a disease. Most women who are surveyed have some symptoms but don't find them terribly bothersome, and there are nonhormonal ways to deal with them. I hate how we medicalize a normal life stage and talk about it pejoratively as a disease.

[thesecolours.livejournal.com]

My feelings, exactly.

[geminigirl]

There are also people for whom the medical consequences of menopause are dangerous; I know my Mom went on HRT, and when she did go off of it, she was physically ill, fainting, her blood pressure shot up to dangerously high levels and so on. For her, the benefits far outweigh the risks.

It's a very personal thing; people need to individually assess the risks and benefits and decide what makes the most sense for them.

[katlynel.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity, what if she'd never gone on it? Or does she have some other medical condition?

I'm opposed to HRT in the same way that I'm opposed to the Pill, which is to say that I think it's overprescribed, overhyped, overpriced, and undercritiqued, but potentially helpful for individual women if they're presented fairly with the risks, benefits, and alternatives.

[geminigirl]

Most likely, she'd have had the same problems, but much sooner than she did. I know that the doctor she sees now would help her manage with alternative or complementary medicine if she could have been well managed that way (that's one of her specialties.) I know she went off of it because she was concerned with the long term side effects and risks, a very sensible thing. In her case however, not being on HRT made her dangerously ill.

[amber911.livejournal.com]

well said, my Mum is going through the memopause right now but the doctor has basically said because she's not in her mid 40s that she's too young.
It isn't the end of femininity though, deffnatly not. I completely agree! x

[tyrsalvia.livejournal.com]

Excellently written, thank you. :}

[lizdefiance.livejournal.com]

yeah, there's all sorts of problems associated with HRT. i much prefer more natural methods of dealing with it, though since i'm vegan my menopausal symptoms are expected to be way less severe than they are for other women!