bio-identical hormones

mollyann,

here is the link...it was down the page on the link ruthbru provided...but I am with you...get back to the BHRT!!

 http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/full/21/5/948

Well we know that the WHI did a study and then halted their research on synthetic HRT. It is known to cause cancer.

Here are a few links which may help.

http://www.womenshealthnetwork.com/library/breasthealth.aspx

http://jeffreydach.com/2009/11/27/synthetic-hormones-pfizerwyeth-lose-big-court-case-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx?ref=rss

http://www.thewileyprotocol.com/blog/blog1.php/prempro-synthetic-hormones

http://bodibuddie.com/?p=23

side effects of synthetic hormones, and may I add that BHRT does not have these side effects

http://www.livestrong.com/article/38211-side-effects-synthetic-hormones/

http://www.lifetoolsforwomen.com/w/natural-hormones.htm

a few sentences from this next link...

Bio-identical hormones had been in use in Europe for fifty years...and...

Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today confirmed that women are increasingly turning to bio-identicals -- as many as two million may be using them now. But the battle to make sure women have access to the best and safest hormonal therapy is far from over.

http://www.naturalwoman.org/

Edited by Mods to update link

I have a question about hormone therapy and the claim that estrogen and progesterone are out of balance and that causes BC.

Your estrogen and progesterone balances change continually during your monthly cycle.  Multiple resources on line show the variations monthly in hormones.

How do you know when you need the hormones?  Or do you take them a few days before your period?  How do you know when to test them?  At their highest or lowest?  Before or after your period?  One hormone is dominant before your period, and one is dominant after your period.

If you take them everyday you would definitely be feeding your body a surplus of hormones which would stimulate the ER/PR growth of cancer cells.

I am post menopausal.  Where does that leave me?

Nan, here's a 10 minute video of Dr. Elizabeth Vliet to add to your prohormone references. Somebody posted it. Can't remember who but I bookmarked it. She is great at busting myths! Oprah should have her on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EpU-Kutdns

Just two more articles on BHRT, and they are from Life Extension. I believe that we all need to have a hormone panel done when we are teenagers, just for a baseline, and then every few years after that. Even young teenagers have hormonal problems, but of course conventional medicine would rather prescribe an anti-depressant. I would bet the farm that ADD is a hormonal imbalance.

PS....Lucy, thanks for that video.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/oct2009_The-Unscientific-Bioidentical-Hormone-Debate_01.htm

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/oct2009_Bioidentical-Hormones_01.htm

Dear Robin,

Here is a link for antiaging specialists in the US. This one is located in Philly, but just click on the map to find one where you live.Most conventional doctors will not "allow" you to take BHRT, even though they have no knowledge about BHRT. And...as my daughter says.."It is not my responsibility to educate them".

http://www.bodylogicmd.com/physicians/dr-kenneth-varano

Another link and this is on Dr. Lee

http://www.johnleemd.com/store/hbh-081001.html#breast_cancer_profile

Risk factors for breast cancer:

 Women who have had more menstrual cycles because they started menstruating at an early age (before age 12) and/or went through menopause at a later age (after age 55) have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. This may be related to a higher lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

Not having children, or having them later in life

Women who have had no children or who had their first child after age 30 have a slightly higher breast cancer risk. Having many pregnancies and becoming pregnant at a young age reduce breast cancer risk. Pregnancy reduces a woman's total number of lifetime menstrual cycles, which may be the reason for this effect.

Using post-menopausal hormone therapy

Post-menopausal hormone therapy (PHT), also known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), has been used for many years to help relieve symptoms of menopause and to help prevent osteoporosis (thinning of the bones). Earlier studies suggested it might have other health benefits as well, but these benefits have not been found in more recent, better designed studies.

There are 2 main types of PHT. For women who still have a uterus (womb), doctors generally prescribe estrogen and progesterone (known as combined PHT). Because estrogen alone can increase the risk of cancer of the uterus, progesterone is added to help prevent this. For women who no longer have a uterus (those who've had a hysterectomy), estrogen alone can be prescribed. This is commonly known as estrogen replacement therapy (ERT).

Combined PHT: Use of combined post-menopausal hormone therapy increases the risk of getting breast cancer. It may also increase the chances of dying from breast cancer. This increase in risk can be seen with as little as 2 years of use. Large studies have found that there is an increased risk of breast cancer related to the use of combined PHT. Combined PHT also increases the likelihood that the cancer may be found at a more advanced stage, possibly because it reduces the effectiveness of mammograms.

The increased risk from combined PHT appears to apply only to current and recent users. A woman's breast cancer risk seems to return to that of the general population within 5 years of stopping combined PHT.

ERT: The use of estrogen alone after menopause does not appear to increase the risk of developing breast cancer significantly, if at all. But when used long term (for more than 10 years), ERT has been found to increase the risk of ovarian and breast cancer in some studies.

At this time there appear to be few strong reasons to use post-menopausal hormone therapy (combined PHT or ERT), other than possibly for the short-term relief of menopausal symptoms. Along with the increased risk of breast cancer, combined PHT also appears to increase the risk of heart disease, blood clots, and strokes. It does lower the risk of colorectal cancer and osteoporosis, but this must be weighed against possible harm, and it should be noted that there are other effective ways to prevent osteoporosis. Although ERT does not seem to have much effect on breast cancer risk, it does increase the risk of stroke. The increased risk of hormone replacement therapy is the same for "bioidentical" and "natural" hormones as it is for synthetic hormones.

The decision to use PHT should be made by a woman and her doctor after weighing the possible risks and benefits (including the severity of her menopausal symptoms), and considering her other risk factors for heart disease, breast cancer, and osteoporosis. If a woman and her doctor decide to try PHT for symptoms of menopause, it is usually best to use it at the lowest dose that works for her and for as short a time as possible.

Not breast-feeding

Some studies suggest that breast-feeding may slightly lower breast cancer risk, especially if breast-feeding is continued for 1½ to 2 years. But this has been a difficult area to study, especially in countries such as the United States, where breast-feeding for this long is uncommon.

The explanation for this possible effect may be that breast-feeding reduces a woman's total number of lifetime menstrual cycles (similar to starting menstrual periods at a later age or going through early menopause).

Being overweight or obese

Being overweight or obese has been found to increase breast cancer risk, especially for women after menopause. Before menopause your ovaries produce most of your estrogen, and fat tissue produces a small amount of estrogen. After menopause (when the ovaries stop making estrogen), most of a woman's estrogen comes from fat tissue. Having more fat tissue after menopause can increase your chance of getting breast cancer by raising estrogen levels.

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_breast_cancer_5.asp 

*************

Take hormones if you want. But realize that you are increasing your risk of a primary breast cancer or recurrence by doing so.

 All these factors are about exposure to your body's own estrogen, which is what bio-identical hormones are *supposed* to replicate.

If anyone IS interested in checking it out, the website is adjuvantoline.com

Julie

 According to my doc, adjuvantonline is not reliable because it never factors in the 20%-30% placebo effect of the separate treatments.

And you're right about not having an acceptable base of untreated women. I looked into that. Many women who refuse treatment have other diseases, e.g., diabetes, cardio, lung, etc. I got an estimate that only 5% of healthy women refuse treatment-- but that is only an estimate-- and they are not followed. They have followed Arimidex takers/nontakers however and there isn't any clear overall survival advantage.

Also, the mixing and matching of combined treatments screws up identifying whether any single one actually works.

Dear Claire:

Suzanne Sommers is not lucky to be alive.  She made a focused and educated treatment choice.  That is the problem with leaving the mainstream.....if she had done chemo and remained NED after 10 years, she would have been wise; done chemo and recurred, she would be unlucky; skipped chemo and recurred, a fool; skipped chemo and not recurred, only LUCKY?  I disagree.  She avoided the health damaging affects of chemo and came out the other side, shiny, vibrant and cancer free.

Julia,

There have been more than 20 "observational" studies on breast cancer patients taking hormones after diagnosis.

An observational study is where they look a group taking hormones and compare them with the group that took no hormones and observe if there was any more recurrence and survival in one group over the other.

NOTE: There have been no double blind studies on breast cancer patients taking hormones just as there have never been double blind studies on chemo or radiation. The chemo and rads studies have also been "observational."

Count me in on the bhrt, but I am triple negative, which makes the choice a bit easier, at least for now.  I see a doctor who not only believes it is a quality of life issue, but had read all the studies and determined that balanced hormones, in association with nutritional management of the negative estrogen metabolites, will decrease risk of recurrence.  Further to this, the truth is that there are only 8 to 9 researchers in this whole country that are experts on the estrogen/progesterone pathways and how they affect our primary cancer risk and recurrence risk.  Even they don't understand the entire model.  But I know that if you are starved of hormones you may still have recurrence and your quality of life is poor and suffers.  The healthiest time of our adult lives takes place in our twenties, and guess what, we have an abundant hormone presence during that time.  It made me wonder.

Dear Merilee,

Here is a link for bio-identical doctors. Just fill out the form and they will send you a list of doctors in your area for Michigan.

http://www.bioidenticaldoctors.com/Michigan.html

You must find a doctor who is willing to work with a woman who was dx with BC.

I would recommend that you buy the book by Dr. John Lee..."What your doctor may (not) tell you about breast cancer". I purchased 6 copies for $5.00 on Amazon. I am not getting a kick-back by telling people about this book. You really need to read this and gather all the info that you can BEFORE seeing an anti-aging doctor. Not all anti-aging doctors have the expertise to properly prescribe exactly what you will need. Also the blood tests are really not accurate. You need saliva testing to determine what you need.

My daughter Lori was dx with TNBC in June of 2007, and has been on BHRT since June of 2009. She could not live without them. MsBliss is so right...this is a quality of life issue, and most conventional doctors know little to nothing about BHRT, and will only prescribe the synthetic HRT. Kudos to your doctor for caring about you!!