Hot Flashes? Bring 'Em On!

I read this short article in a magazine I picked up at a doctors office and thought it was interesting.

"Before you get annoyed at having to wipe the sweat off your brow again, consider this: Hot flashes may actually be a good sign in breast cancer patients taking anti-estrogen medication.  A recent study in the UK looked at nearly 4,000 postmenopausal breast cancer patients who began taking anti-estrogen therapy for hormone receptor-positive tumors (tumors that need the female hormone estrogen to grow).

Researchers found that women who reported so-called vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes or night sweats, within the first three months of starting anti-estrogen therapy were 30% less likely than asymptomatic wmen to have a recurrence of their cancer. Reserachers suggest that being symptomatic at the beginning of hormonal therapy may indicate a strong response to treatment.

Because hot flashes and night sweats were associated with higher survival rates, researchers say women with these symptoms should take them as reassurance-however annoying such symptoms may be." End of article. Source: Lancet Oncology