Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[orrla]

Thanks!

Yeah, I can sense a storm coming..     The Guardian took it off their front page, and on radio they added a message from doctors to not panick!

We are in the news! 

[Jeana1]

Hi Orrla

Just seen a tweet from Dr Peter Greenhouse , I think there is going to be some backlash from this study!

Feel a bit calmer now but it really did ramp up my anxiety and probably many many more ladies have had a bad day too due to this!

Jeana

[Whatsupwiththis]

That's why my GP said "no way" to the patch...not only due to age (68 years young) but my mom and all 3 aunts has breast cancer.  She is a meno GP and attends several conventions a year on a wide range of menopausal topics.  She said any woman who has a direct relative with breast cancer must be diligent when using HRT.  Who knows for sure if it does or doesn't.  Quality of Life versus Quantity of Life.  When the Grim Reaper comes calling it doesn't care if you used HRT or not.

[orrla]

Well, I like this summary:

1. Women who take HRT are less likely to DIE of breast cancer than those who've never taken it

2. Women who take HRT and do develop breast cancer have a significantly better 10 year survival (80%) than those who've never taken it (64%)

3. Women who take HRT have a lower all-cause mortality than those who've never taken it - due mostly to a substantially reduced risk of death from heart attack

4. The risks of being denied HRT far outweigh any from taking it, as there is a “Mortality Toll” from HRT avoidance

When I was deciding to go on HRT, which we all know that is not perfect, only one thing was known for sure, that it protects against Osteoporosis. My Grandma spent her last 5 years in bed with broken bones that could not be put back together from it, so genetically I am prone, hence my decision. I am 19 years on it, and intend to continue!

[dahliagirl]

Wearing my cynical hat, we had Dame Valerie on R4, the day before the new NICE menopause guidelines, telling everyone that HRT definitely gave you breast cancer - could probably search for it on the threads if I had time 

They are very intransigent about that Million Women study, and willing to scare women.  I would be more inclined to listen if the new study had been presented to all the other researchers in the field at conference and properly mulled over.

[Sooze]

Been out all day so first chance to comment on all this but been angry since I read the headlines in The Times. The press must be rubbing their hands in glee to get Boris off the front page! Yup call me cynical but there's a certain amount of ‘bad news spin' associated with this IMO.

Yes research is good, but I read it as 93.7% of women who have never taken HRT won't get breast cancer over the 20yrs from the ages of 50-69yrs and 91.7% of women's who have taken HRT won't get breast cancer over the 20yrs from the ages of 50-69yrs.

But, and this is the big thing, all those women in the ‘study' weren't identical. We're looking at different lives led from conception to age 50+, different environments, different lifestyles, different genes, different risks.  Until science can give us each an individual risk level, based on just you there's a lot of assumptions being made.  Maybe those living in urban areas with high pollution are more at risk? But of course they are looking for a ‘common factor' that could possibly link that 2% increase but what if it's not HRT?

For those who suffer from health anxiety headlines like this are just irresponsible.....lazy reporting IMO. I'm guessing Rosie Taylor who wrote the article in The Times isn't menopausal yet or she might have spent more time researching the report and presented it in a less 'tabloid' manner.  😡

[Whatsupwiththis]

Well said sooze.  Again QUALITY versus QUANTITY.  My mom and her 3 sisters all had breast cancer.  My mom and 1 Aunt died due to cancer.  None of them took HRT.  Genes play a much more important role in MHO along with stress, environmental conditions, shift work, etc., etc., etc.  If you have the BRCA1 and BRCA 2 gene then maybe HRT 'might'  exacerbate these genes but in life everything is a crap shoot.

[Foxylady]

Hi Ladies, Just catching up on all the comments & links, thanks everyone. x

[Bobidy]

I feel incredibly cynical about the timing of this report with regards to the shortages. It's really irresponsible to say all that stuff but not put it into a more balanced perspective.

I really hope women will be able to see through it. We aren't stupid, we already know there is a risk, 1 in 8 of us will get it anyway, hrt or not. What about the £1billion Nhs spend on hip fractures etc! I'm actually more worried about osteoporosis and heart disease if not taking it than the breast cancer as there is a higher risk.

If hrt is good enough for Dr Newson it's good enough for me! X

[Wrensong]

Katejo

I'd like to hear what the author of "Oestrogen Matters" thinks of this latest study

.  I said the same thing to OH this morning.

[Wrensong]

Jeana, thank you for posting the statement from Peter Greenhouse.

[orrla]

Now that you mentioned him...

Reduced risk of breast cancer mortality in women using postmenopausal hormone therapy: a Finnish nationwide comparative study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27465718

[Jari]

For those just starting out on the meno phase or trying to decide what to do, I guess it’s a case of seeing how bad the symptoms are and whether you can cope with them or not.
If you feel you can’t cope with them ( if you have them), then maybe try hrt for as short a time as possible.
When I first saw my GP about it, she said she recommends to ladies who are starting with some bad symptoms, to try it for as short a time as possible. Eg 6 months to a year and then come off it to see if the symptoms have passed. X

[Turkish delight]

What grinds my gears is the sensationalism around the study findings, and how it's shoved in every paper article and news channel.

Even though they say the risk has doubled it's still half the amount that is associated with alcohol and obesity, yet you never see news items dedicated to these topics in the media on how alcohol and obesity have the greater adverse effect on BC, bexause that doesn't fly with ppl.

I think it is good to have the research, just not a fan of the media revelling in it.

Botton line is if you decide to continue taking hrt be on top of breast checks, mammograms etc, you can pay £50 and have it done through the nhs in the gap between the existing 3 year national screening program. And stay on top of how much alcohol you drink and what you eat.

TD

[kdee69]

Apologies if this has already been posted.
https://twitter.com/mymenopausedr/status/1167487284381409286's=21