Breast Cancer and HRT
These days, many women undergo HRT or hormone replacement therapy for managing the physical changes occurring during and after menopause. This hormone replacement therapy usually involves use of both progestin and estrogen. However, if the woman has undergone a hysterectomy, the hormone replacement therapy will only involve use of estrogen. Estrogen helps in relieving menopausal symptoms like hot flashes; this hormone is also known for preventing osteoporosis, which is found in many women in their postmenopausal age.
A number of medical studies carried out for finding the ill effects of hormone replacement therapy have revealed that there can be links between breast cancer and hormone therapy. The most prominent among these studies is a study called WHI or Women’s Health Initiative. The results obtained from this study were published in the month of July of 2002. The study was done on over 16,000 healthy females. It concluded that health risks imposed by hormone replacement therapy that includes use of both progestin and estrogen outweigh its benefits. Women undergoing such therapies become more susceptible towards conditions like blood clotting, strokes, heart diseases and breast cancer than women who do not receive any such therapy.
The worst thing is that HRT not only increases a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer, but also increases the possibilities that diagnosis of the cancer will occur only after the cancer reaches its advanced stage. The factor responsible for late diagnosis of breast cancer in women receiving HRT is that HRT reduces the efficacy of mammography.
As mentioned earlier, women who do not have their uterus can be treated with only estrogen for controlling menopausal symptoms. This form of HRT is unlikely to increase one’s risk of suffering from breast cancer. Another WHI study conducted in 2004 revealed that women taking only estrogen during hormone replacement therapy are at no higher risk of getting breast cancer and heart diseases. However, estrogen therapy does increase one’s risk of having stroke.
