How To Relieve Menopause Symptoms Whithout HRT (HRT Linked To Breast Cancer)

Posted by Cathy on

Breast cancer alternative therapies beyond HRTHow many women do you know that have been diagnosed, are being treated for, have survived, or even lost the battle against breast cancer? The current statistic is that 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer!

Breast cancer is occurring in alarming numbers of American women and nobody, not even the top doctors on the subject i.e. Dr. Susan Love, (who I recently heard at a conference),  have definitive answers regarding the causes. 

During menopause, many women turn to HRT for relief. Evidence linking breast cancer with HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) was recently released. This study, the largest ever done, was called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI).  It was first released in 2002 and now, more evidence from researchers following these women have found that HRT significantly increases a woman’s risk of being diagnosed with invasive type of breast cancer and cause death. 

The new evidence suggests:

  • high dose HRT increased a woman’s risk more than low-dose HRT, and
  • combination HRT, both estrogen and progesterone carries an increase risk over estrogen only HRT.

After the initial WHI report was released in 2002, HRT use declined and a drop in breast cancer diagnoses was also evident.

“What’s important about this study is that it really provides tremendous clarity regarding the risks of hormone replacement therapy,” says Dr. Freya Schnabel, of New York University’s Langone Medical Center.

“I think from this point onward any woman who’s considering taking hormone replacement therapy will need to genuinely consider these risks,” says Schnabel.

What I believe is most important  for women suffering from menopause symptoms such as  hot flashes, night sweats, irritability etc,  is to realize there are other options beyond HRT.  Natural herbal remedies for menopause have been proven effective and have been used for generations of women.  Women who chose to see health providers such as Acupuncturists, Homeopaths, Naturepaths and other Complementary Medicine practitioners know there are many other options for natural menopause relief. 

Women really don’t need to suffer with hot flashes, poor sleep and low libido. Natural Menopause Relief does exist and it does work.   If you are suffering with menopause symptoms, learn about other safer options than HRT.

 

 

Is This A Trend? Breast Cancer Lawsuits Against HRT and Wyeth

Posted by Cathy on

Breast cancer has climbed to 1 in every 8 women and now the finger is beginning to point to drug manufacturers. Wyeth and Pfizer have made combination hormone drugs for over 30 years and these HRT drugs (hormone replacement therapy) are commonly used for menopause treatments. About 10,000 cases against these pharmaceutical giants have already been filed and Pfizer has spent nearly $900 million to resolve about half of them.

 

Some go to trial, others settle more quietly out of court. Just last week, a Utah jury found Wyeth responsible for one woman’s breast cancer and awarded her $5 million in compensation.  Utah does not allow for punitive damages.

 

Studies, such as the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, released this statement with it’s results:  “Women using Hormone Replacement Therapy (“HRT”) are more likely to develop breast cancer than those who are not using HRT.”

 

The National Institute of Health completed the Million Women Study in Britain a few years ago. Based on the results, the NIH concluded that the “Current use of HRT is associated with an increased risk of incident and fatal breast cancer; the effect is substantially greater for oestrogen-progestagen combinations than for other types of HRT.” 

 

One expert testified that his research showed as many as 15,000 cases of breast cancer per year occurred in women taking the combination hormone drug. Yet the “defense witnesses told you the same thing, the same story line, that Wyeth wanted them to tell you over and over — that no one knows what causes breast cancer,” said Russell T. Abney, another attorney representing Okuda. “We are not arguing that Ms. Okuda didn’t have an abnormal cell in her body. What we are arguing is that [estrogen plus progesterone] promoted that abnormal cell to grow.”

 

Women don’t have to choose between drugs and cancer for debilitating symptoms of menopause. There are other choices of menopause treatment.

References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12927427