NIH Study regarding HRT and BReast cancer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a new study, not the old discredited one?

Is there a scientist on here that can explain what it means when it’s talking about the different kinds of HrR? It sounds like the risk is only elevated with one kind and is actually decreased with another kind?

There aren't two "kinds" of HRT, but rather whether you need to take progesterone along with the estrogen (aka "combo"). Unless you have had a hysterectomy, you do need need the combo, because estrogen-only will mess with your uterine lining.

Studies seem fairly definitive that there is no downside to estrogen-only treatment, but the jury is out on the risk of the combo treatment. Unfortunately without actual science, those of us who believe we could benefit from HRT are left to decide on our own whether it's worth the risk. Different doctors will tell you different things. It's all quite maddening.

What is “actual science”? Actual science is messy. That is why you need to talk to your doctor and not be swayed by anyone trying to claim there is a definitive “science”.

Ok, poor choice of words. I meant that we lack definitive answers with current studies. And different doctors will absolutely tell you different things. I have discussed HRT with 3 doctors: Primary care, Gynecologist, and Cardiologist. Gyn is pro-HRT, Cardio is against, and Primary was neutral. These doctors are not quacks, they're all highly accredited and respected in their fields.

I’m not sure I would trust a cardio against hrt unless you were late meno or rather unhealthy.

[Anonymous]

I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

HRT for surgical menopause is different from HRT for normal hot flashes. And you should not have let it get to that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just diagnosed with breast cancer. No family history of it. I'm 49 and was put on HRT 3 years ago to manage perimenopause symptoms.

Note, my breast cancer is early stage, and is treatable, so I will hopefully not be counted in any "mortality" numbers, but still it's so much to go through (surgery, radiation and guess what?! Bc my cancer is positive for hormone receptors, I have to take basically anti-estrogen meds for the next several years to make sure it doesn't come back). Anecdotal, obviously, but HRT has definitely not been worth this.

I think the guidance will eventually shake out at not starting HRT until after full menopause.

Also, for the many women who have dense breast tissue (I do), that can hide the earliest detection of a breast tumor. Density naturally does go down in full menopause so that's another factor to consider if you're perimenopausal and taking HRT, that any cancer might be more difficult to spot. Make sure you're vigilant about screenings.

I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I’m glad they caught it early and I wish you the best.

I guess I’m confused because aren’t the HRT dosages really low? And aren’t women on a higher doses of estrogen earlier in life when most of us are on birth control? And don’t estrogen rate skyrocket when we are pregnant and yet we don’t tend to see a correlation with women getting diagnosed with breast cancer after pregnancy.

It seems like it’s just too simple to say estrogen for hormone replacement therapy is causing cancer. The fact of the matter is breast cancer is rising in young women and yet very few young women are on replacement therapy, especially since the big study in the early 2000s hormone replacement therapy rates have plunged so there’s clearly more to the story on why younger women are getting breast cancer and it’s not just estrogen or hormone replacement therapy.

I really fear we’re missing the forest through the trees when people just lump these early rates of cancer as HRT when most women being diagnosed early, have not started HRT yet.

Actually cancer is detected in 1/1000 pregnancies, with the most common types being breast, cervical and lymphoma. There is mixed thinking with regard to whether these cancers are detected by increased rates of perinatal imaging or whether the pregnancies themselves and the increased hormonal load are triggers for the cancers - some doctors and researchers believe it is the latter, especially given the trend toward older women having pregnancies.

I had a breast spot detected by early mammo at 35, which was ordered by a new GYN who was unfamiliar with my dense, lumpy breast tissue and believed she'd palpated a lump during breast exam. Turned out I had a small something too deep into the breast for her to have felt it, and another GYN recommended ultrasound monitoring which I had for a couple of years every 6 months. I had a pregnancy at 38 which ended in miscarriage in the second trimester, and after that my then GYN insisted I have needle biopsy because of the risk of pregnancy hormones triggering cancer growth. The spot ended up being a fibroadenoma and the needle biopsy removed it completely.

However, during that pregnancy I developed a small nerf football sized growth on one of my ovaries, and it was recommended I have it surgically removed because CAT scan could not rule out cancer. It ended up being benign, but the removal of that ovary - and part of the other which had a small cyst so the surgeon decided on her own iniative whilst I was under sedation to cut that one up, too - put me into a hellish perimenopause which wrecked my health for the next decade. Until I got on HRT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

HRT for surgical menopause is different from HRT for normal hot flashes. And you should not have let it get to that point.

First, as to your attitude - you should F right off, you are a nasty person.

Second, it is exceedingly difficult to find physicians who aren't blinkered by the recent stupidity around HRT from a flawed study in the early 2000s that was massively misreported by media. Many, many doctors are so litigation averse that they will chuck women's health under the bus in favor of fewer complications in their practice.

Thirdly, again, F right off.

[Anonymous]

I am on a medication that can cause horrible infections and cancer. A lot of people have died from taking it. But this medication makes it so I can function, decreases my risk of other cancers, and decreases my risk of major medical complications that make me miserable and can also cause death.

The cost benefit analysis with the medication I'm on is pretty simple: I'm obviously going to take it. It might be a bit more complicated to HRT; its not easy for laypeople to understand what these studies actually mean in terms of increased risk. We all know so many people who have made terrible decisions based on their reading of a study they didn't understand, and often entire professions do this. But life isn't risk-free and we have to take a holistic look at things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

HRT for surgical menopause is different from HRT for normal hot flashes. And you should not have let it get to that point.

Different poster here. Oh my god, you’re a truly horrible person. Your response to PP actually shocked me.

[Anonymous]

Gaining a few pounds and sleeping less than the recommended 7 hours do a TON to increase your risk of breast cancer, let alone even light drinking. I’m happy with my choice to combine hrt eith lifestyle to keep weight off, sleep, exercise etc. so that my risk of cancers of all types isn’t skyrocketing due to loss of sleep and weight gain around my middle. You do you OP.

[Anonymous]

I was one of the women who really really suffered when I hit menopause and requested something to help me and was told by my long time gyn PA that I had to tough it out and that they did not prescribe anything due to the now debunked Womens Health Study of the 2000's.

It was truly horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The current social media blitz has convinced women that the benefits of HRT are huge and risks are minimal to the point that even talking about the risks gets you labeled as a misogynist or whatever.

HRT has its place for women with severe symptoms. As someone with lifelong insomnia that impacts my mental health, I am not totally writing it off if my hot flashes get worse. But I discussed it with my long-time trusted GP and he advised that the risk of cancer wasn’t worth it and will support me in exploring other ways to address symptoms if they arise.

The benefits are huge. I am not going to suffer and look like a hag because there there MIGHT be a tiny chance that I could develop breast cancer. My qualify of life is really important to me. I tried everything before I got the hormonal pellet, which is also controversial. I think my symptoms were common, but I refused to sit in a meeting with sweat streaming down my face because of a small chance of breast cancer. I say that as a thyroid cancer survivor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was one of the women who really really suffered when I hit menopause and requested something to help me and was told by my long time gyn PA that I had to tough it out and that they did not prescribe anything due to the now debunked Womens Health Study of the 2000's.

It was truly horrible.

I hope you got a new GYN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

HRT for surgical menopause is different from HRT for normal hot flashes. And you should not have let it get to that point.

Different poster here. Oh my god, you’re a truly horrible person. Your response to PP actually shocked me.

Look. That PP was engaged in some severe fear-mongering and outlandish tale to, I don’t know what, convince people that we all need HRT? I’m sorry no, losing all your possessions and becoming suicidal is not because you did not get HRT because your doctor is mean. Nobody is shaming anybody for taking HRT - but I surely will call out people making absurdly exaggerated claims about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

HRT for surgical menopause is different from HRT for normal hot flashes. And you should not have let it get to that point.

Different poster here. Oh my god, you’re a truly horrible person. Your response to PP actually shocked me.

Look. That PP was engaged in some severe fear-mongering and outlandish tale to, I don’t know what, convince people that we all need HRT? I’m sorry no, losing all your possessions and becoming suicidal is not because you did not get HRT because your doctor is mean. Nobody is shaming anybody for taking HRT - but I surely will call out people making absurdly exaggerated claims about it.

There’s a difference between “making a claim” and telling your experience. Tons of women have experiences like that PP, yes, due to loss of hormones when there’s a pretty easy and simple solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

HRT for surgical menopause is different from HRT for normal hot flashes. And you should not have let it get to that point.

Different poster here. Oh my god, you’re a truly horrible person. Your response to PP actually shocked me.

Look. That PP was engaged in some severe fear-mongering and outlandish tale to, I don’t know what, convince people that we all need HRT? I’m sorry no, losing all your possessions and becoming suicidal is not because you did not get HRT because your doctor is mean. Nobody is shaming anybody for taking HRT - but I surely will call out people making absurdly exaggerated claims about it.

There’s a difference between “making a claim” and telling your experience. Tons of women have experiences like that PP, yes, due to loss of hormones when there’s a pretty easy and simple solution.

NP Agreed. The “Look,” PP is absolutely horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read exhaustively in the literature because I had a dear friend who was convinced her breast cancer was from the HRT she went on the year before diagnosis and who demanded I promise, while nursing her on hospice status, never to take it.

I experienced devastating symptoms from surgically induced early menopause and over a decade lost my career, my home, most of my possessions and nearly all my good health - I struggled with suicidality for nearly a decade from chronic debilitating insomnia that made me clinically depressed. I finally went on HRT and got my life back, or what’s left of it. I can work full time again and have some modest future hopes and don’t think all the time about killing myself.

I’m happy to risk the .whatever increase for breast cancer to avoid the certainty that I would have eventually succumbed to suicidal ideation. Don’t shame anyone who chooses HRT - you have no idea what battles they’ve endured.

HRT for surgical menopause is different from HRT for normal hot flashes. And you should not have let it get to that point.

Different poster here. Oh my god, you’re a truly horrible person. Your response to PP actually shocked me.

Look. That PP was engaged in some severe fear-mongering and outlandish tale to, I don’t know what, convince people that we all need HRT? I’m sorry no, losing all your possessions and becoming suicidal is not because you did not get HRT because your doctor is mean. Nobody is shaming anybody for taking HRT - but I surely will call out people making absurdly exaggerated claims about it.

NP. The suicide rates in women around menopause are quite alarming. It’s not just anecdotal. There are real data. Not saying HRT is the answer for everyone, but it probably is one solution among many.