A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association last month, based on data collected for the ongoing federal Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), has found that women taking estrogen and progesterin had an increased risk of breast cancer. The women who experienced the greatest increase in risk were those who had a previous history of hormone therapy and resumed taking it as part of the WHI study. According to one of the authors, JoAnn E. Manson, “There was an 85 percent increase in breast cancer among the women who had used hormone therapy in the past.” This finding echoes results of other studies, that a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer increases the longer she takes the combination of estrogen and progesterin. Manson says it is not yet clear whether risk increases even more for women who stop taking HT and then resume it, compared with those who never take a break.
If you have any questions about hormone replacement therapy, Village Green has pharmacists who may be able to help you with some answers regarding this controversial therapy.
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