Hi and welcome to MM clairep
I am not a medical professional (though I have quite a few medical professionals in our family)but I had a premature menopause, so have had around 25 years of dealing with all the menopause problems.
Delighted to hear you had your daughters but I'm sure coping with them and the menopause is challenging at times.
You haven't told us how old you are now? Which Femoston are you on? When you say there is a lot of cancer in your family, what cancers are these?
If your mother or sister have had oestrogen receptive breast cancer then there could be some concern but with proper monitoring the risks of cancer generally are very small.
The important thing to remember is that the normal age for menopause is between 52-54, so using HRT till at least 54 is simply replacing what your body would produce naturally. I believe trials have shown that 5 years of HRT in our mid 50s (so beyond menopause) will lengthen our lives and protect the bones and heart for the long term.
Femoston has bio identical oestrogen(as do most HRTs now) so is a good hormonal supplement. There are no alternatives to HRT that will protect your bones, heart, skin, muscles, bladder etc. in the way HRT will, so please be reassured that you are definitely doing the right thing by using the Femoston. You need to take your pills properly and regularly but if the flushes are emerging again you may be needing a higher dose - maybe try the Femoston 2/10?. Often a higher dose is needed because your own hormones have bottomed out and the body is craving more oestrogen. If you find the progesterone in Femoston suits you Ok, then I wouldn't change HRT type. However if you would like to stop having bleeds and want to increase your oestrogen level more, then having a Mirena fitted can be a good alternative and use oestrogen in patch or gel form alongside.
There are many that use Utrogestan (bio identical progesterone) as the progesterone part of HRT alongside oestrogen only patches, however it can have a sedating effect and doesn't suit everyone.
I can understand your concerns regarding cancer but the scares in the press have been greatly overplayed and the very small breast cancer risk only applies if still on HRT beyond 60.
Quality of life is terribly important and being on good form for you family is also vital. There are so many HRT options but there are no true ‘alternatives' that will control flushes and protect you bones the way HRT does.
Keep posting. DG x