Living well
Breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks: what initially seemed like a solution turned out to be counterproductive
The hormone therapy for menopause (THM) has been a common choice for treating menopausal symptoms for decades. In fact, before 2002, it was common for any woman between the ages of 40 and 50 to walk into a doctor’s office during menopause to leave with a prescription for female hormones.
This was because during that time, it was believed that these hormones could prevent aging and heart disease. However, studies showed that those who took these hormones for more than five years had an “excess of breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks.”
What initially seemed like a solution to maintaining youth turned out to be counterproductive. This discovery led to a drastic decrease in the prescription of these hormones, especially in the US.
Hormone therapy and breast cancer: what you should know if you have a family history | Source: RPP
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Now, recent research, such as that published in the ‘British Journal of General Practice’, indicate that the use of female hormones during menopause may be dangerousespecially in women with a family history of breast cancer.
According to this study, women who are between 50 and 80 years old and have direct relatives, such as mothers or sisters, who have had breast cancer, have a 23% more risk of developing this disease.
Dr. Huerta stresses that this study will be useful for gynecologists, who now have to be more careful when evaluating the family history of their patients. In particular, if a woman has more than one relative with breast cancer, her risk is even higher.
Clear communication between doctors and patients is key to making informed decisions that balance menopausal symptom relief and potential cancer risks.
Living well
New research reveals risk of hormones in women with family history of breast cancer
