Guest guest Posted October 12, 2000 Report Share Posted October 12, 2000 Hi Tig, I too have done some research on this and I am truly appalled at what I have read ...the stories and testimonies I've read is really scary. Thank you for taking the time to post what every woman needs to know! Tara ë > Hi everyone, > Not to scare you, but I read this in a newsletter I received today > and > I think ALL women should be aware! PLEASE READ! > > New Data on the Dangers of Hormone Replacement Therapy: > > Initially I was going to do a newsletter on how food combining can > help the body lose excess weight and improve the body's primary body > functions of digestion, assimilation and elimination BUT since > October > is Breast Cancer Awareness month I think every female needs to be > informed about the latest " not so good " news regarding Hormone > Replacement Therapy. > > Data on the risks of prescription hormones has been stacking up at > the > same time the benefits have been becoming increasingly questionable. > Drugs such as " Premarin " cause cancer with or without added > progestins. Its now been proven that adding progestins simply moves > the cancer to another organ. > > A new study from the University of Toronto is the latest to show that > prescription estrogen greatly increases the risk of endometrial > cancer. The first studies on the high risk of endometrial cancer and > synthetic estrogen were published in 1975. Subsequently it was > proven > that risk could be reduced if progestins were added. That strategy > now has been proven to not only increase the risk of breast cancer, > but in some cases..even double it! > > Despite 40 years of data, researchers are still preoccupied with the > serious side effects of hormone drugs. The database on the long- term > effects of these drugs is huge. Tens of thousands of women have > taken > part in hormone replacement studies published in the past two years > alone. A recent Swedish study involved over three thousand women > with > breast cancer. It found that non-obese women were more likely than > obese women to develop breast cancer after long-term (10 years) use > of > estrogens, with or without progestins. > > Another study, The Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project, > analyzed over 2000 women out of a database of 46,000+ participants > before concluding that the risk of breast cancer is increased every > year a woman takes hormone drugs. Another study tracked over 10,000 > at risk for breast cancer plus over 8,000 women at risk for > endometrial cancer for 5 years. It concluded that women who take > estrogen drugs without progestins for at least 6 years have a 4 times > increased risk of invasive endometrial cancer, with no increase in > breast cancer. But women who take estrogen drugs with progestin > drugs > have about a 50% increased risk of breast cancer over those who > don't! > The size and consistency of these studies is hard to argue with. > > Large " breakthrough " studies have periodically made doctors and > patients aware that hormone drugs increase the risk of cancer. > Prescriptions plummet after these episodes of public awareness. In > response, the drug industry develops new marketing strategies. The > latest include claims that hormone drugs protect the heart and bone. > Heart protection never had much support in the scientific literature, > yet this fact has been obscured by multi-million dollar ad campains. > In 1998, doubts were confirmed when results of a large study on > " Prempro " (Premarin plus progestins) were released which verified > that > the drug increased, not decreased, the risk of heart attack. This > shouldn't have been surprising given that the propensity of estrogen > drugs to cause deadly blood clots has been well-documented since the > 1960's. > > Blood clots are a good reason not to take prescription hormones for > osteoporosis. The risk for outweighs the benefit - especially > considering that safe alternatives such as reduced animal-protein > diets and phytoestrogens are widely available and inexpensive. Why > take a chance on dying when there are viable alternatives? > > Given the prognosis of women who take hormone drugs long-term, it's > probably fortunate that the adverse effects drive almost half the > women away within a few months. And the good news is that even if a > woman has taken hormone drugs for years the risk of breast cancer > will > decline if she stops. Endometrial cancer may be different, however. > A study from Oxford indicates that the elevated risk for endometrial > cancer caused by the drugs goes away very slowly, it at all. > > The Food and Drug Administration, which reviews drug applications, is > supposed to apply a risk/benefit analysis when considering whether a > drug should go on the market. If a drug is designed for a > life-threatening condition, serious adverse reactions such as cancer > and blood clots are considered acceptable. However, if a drug is > designed to treat non-life threatening conditions and less toxic > alternatives are available, the risk/benefit analysis fails. In the > case of hormone replacement therapy drugs, the risk/benefit analysis > fails despite the fact that these drugs remain on the market. > > I don't know about you but these statistics really set off anger and > alarm within me! We, as women, need to maintain acute awareness > about > Hormone Replacement Therapy. We are only given one body - make > educated decisions. Ask questions, get second opinions and read as > much research as you can find. Here's a list of references > substantiating the latest findings as written in this article - you > can go to a medical library to read actual studies or get a copy for > your own records or ask your physician if he/she can get a copy for > you. > > Beral V, et al. 1999. Use of HRT and the subsequent risk of cancer. > J > Epidemiol Biostat 4:191-210 > > Gaijdos C, et al. 2000. Breast cancer diagnosed during hormone > replacement therapy. Obstet Gynecol 95:513-18 > > Hill DA, et al. 1998. Adherence to postmenopausal hormone therapy > during the year after the initial prescription: a population-based > study. > AmJ Obstet Gynecol 182:270-6 > > Hulley S, et al. 1998. Randomized trial of estrogen plus progestin > for > secondary prevention of coronary hart disease in postmenopausal > women. > > Journal of American Medical Association 280:605-13 > > Magnusson C, et al. 1999. Breast cancer risk following long term > estrogen and estrogen-progestin replacement therapy. Int J Cancer > 81:339-44 > > Persson I, et al. 1999. Risks of breast and endometrial cancer after > estrogen and estrogen-progestin replacement Can Causes Control > 10:253-60 > > Ross RK, et al. 2000. Effect of hormone replacement therapy on > breast > cancer risk: estrogen verses estrogen plus progestin. J Natl Cancer > Inst 92:328-32 > > Schairer C, et al. 2000. Menopausal estrogen and estrogen- progestin > replacement therapy and breast cancer risk. JAMA 283:485-91. > > Weiderpass E, et al. 1999. Risk of endometrial cancer following > estrogen replacement with and without progestins. J Natl Cancer Inst > 91:1131-7 > > Hope everyone gives this a good looking over...Tig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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