Cutting Through The Confusion Which The Media Stirs

Make Sure You Know The Difference

Findings of a study which states, "Breast cancer rates fell as women turned away from hormone replacement therapy", was recently published online in Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

This is why it is so important to keep in contact with your customers on a regular basis, to help them decipher the confusion of news media bites that hit the air waves.

The article cited that use of HRT to combat the effects of menopause halved in Britain after studies suggested it could increase the risk of breast cancer. Another study conducted in Canada has now found that as use of the treatment dropped, the number of cases of breast cancer detected also reduced.

However after several years, breast cancer rates began to rise again leading researchers to believe that not using HRT simply led to their tumors growing more slowly.

A few thoughts on these matters.

When they say HRT, what type of HRT? What hormones are involved. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, etc. And where estrogen is implicated much of the time, which estrogen?

Were they bio-identicals, such as estriol, estradiol, and estrone? and at what concentrations, strength's, and were the patients being adequately tested?

Or were they non-bioidentical's, such as the conjugated horse estrogen's such as premarin(R), combined with the non progesterone, progestin medroxyprogesterone, both which were implicated in the US Government sponsored, Women's Health Initiative Study.

Estrogen is often the culprit, and there are estrogen dependent cancers. Although it is interesting to note that estriol has been used in some breast cancer treatments by believably acting as an 'estrogen blocker' of other more powerful and proliferative estrogen's such as estradiol, estrone, and possible environmental estrogen's, aka xeno-estrogens.

I believe it is all about balance. Benefits of properly balanced, bio-identical hormones have been published in numerous studies. We should take into account each person as an individual, their lifestyle and dietary status, how their body metabolizes the hormones, environmental assaults and of course proper management.

Food for thought - just an important point to show how the media constantly builds obstacles for the lay public from finding the truth.

Here is probably my favorite book on hormones, easy to read, reference and understand by Dr. Pamela Smith...for patients and practitioner's