HRT?

Hi Hockeymom, 

I just had ooph and was told by my breast oncologist that I cannot take HRT due to being a breast cancer survivor.  I also have already had bilateral mastectomies and the first cancer was triple negative.  When I asked why, she gave me two reasons. 

First, she explained that researchers suspect that triple negative tumors may start off as hormone positive and turn off their hormone receptors at some point in their growth.  I think this theory is used to try to explain why removing ovaries in BRCA1 women dramatically lowers the risk of a new primary breast cancer even when something like 85% of BRCA1 cancers are triple negative.

Second, she explained that tumors are not homogeneous.  There may be a few stray hormone positive cells in a triple negative tumor.  She would not want to activate them.

Granted these risks are both pretty low since, like you, I had breast tissue removed and luckily my breast cancer had not spread to the nodes.  But in case there are any dormant cells lurking in my body, she doesn't want to risk activating them with hormones. 

Maybe I would revisit the decision not to use HRT if my menopause symptoms become overwhelming and nonhormone remedies weren't effective.  But I think this is why, in the absense of studies proving its safety, oncologists are reluctant to give even hormone negative cancer survivors HRT.

Best wishes,

Chloe