To be worried about HRT and cancer risks?

[Stressymadre]

I went to the GP yesterday after putting up with peri menopause symptoms for a long time, I decided enough was enough as they were impacting my ability to do my job properly, my capacity to exercise and my relationships.

She prescribed me HRT but... I have come home and ended up down a scary google rabbit whole of cancer related risks. I am only 42 so still young and I know the additional risks are small but I am worrying. I am being silly? I know many women take HRT so maybe I am
I am just worried as I had a friend start HRT and within 2 years she had breast cancer....
On the one hand I am excited about being able to sleep again, not feel like an angry raging bull half the month and being able to run again but on the other hand, what if...

My friend had breast cancer that may have been caused by her hrt. The gp took her off it straightaway and she was not allowed back on it after treatment.

Depends on your risk i think. My mother was on it for 2 decades and it worked really well for her keeping her bones strong. Do you have any family history of it? You can be on it for a short time to manage symptoms for now.

YABU
The increased breast cancer risk is very small, and if you smoke, drink moderately or are overweight you're already at a greater risk of developing cancer than the additional risk caused by HRT. HRT also reduces the risk of bowel cancer and obviously minimises the loss of bone density.
Nothing in medicine is risk free. But you need to look at actual facts, not scare mongering. If you aren't happy with the slightly higher risk then don't take it, but be aware of what that risk actually looks like.

The risk is small but varies depending on your personal risk factors. Make sure you get your information from the GP or reputable sources such as Cancer UK so as not to scare yourself. HRT is also protective against other diseases so it is a balance. The doctor should monitor your levels whilst you get settled into a regime. I have a family history of breast cancer so was referred for annual mammograms and monitoring earlier than usual.

Speak to your doctor about your concerns.

There are small additional risks for some diseases and beneficial effects for others. Overall I would say HRT is moderately beneficial to health.taking it is a personal decision based on your circumstances, symptoms and any relevant risk factors in lifestyle/genetics.

At your age there is more of a cancer risk from drinking alcohol or being overweight. In fact the benefits usually outweigh the risks. Nothing is risk free though - even living 😊

in fact for me it was a clear case of me not being able to function properly and being so riddled with anxiety that I'd never suffered before that I would have accepted any risk anyway 😂

It's standard to come off it as the estrogen feeds the cancer. My mum's surgeon said it wouldn't have caused her breast cancer but it would have accelerated it. She is the first to admit that HRT got her through a terrible time and she doesn't regret taking it.

The risk is very small. And doesn't necessarily outweigh the benefits.
Suggest Dr Kelly Casperson's book or podcast, plenty of useful information in there.

Lots of things in life carry a risk, but you need HRT to have a life! I know what I would do! Cancer risk is very small and often has no reason for being found. Of course other factors matter too but as long as you have a healthy lifestyle, I believe the risk is tiny. Worth it to get your life back and this is why millions of women take HRT.

This chart helps assess risk. It is about risk and benefit to you.

thebms.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/01-NEW-INFOGRAPHICS-NOV2025-C.pdf

Have a read of Dr Louise Newson’s website

You have to weigh up slight increased risk and all the benefits you gain if it does relieve your symptoms. When I was prescribed HRT I was also referred to the Familial Breast Cancer Clinic because both my maternal aunts had breast cancer before the age of 50, two different types and no HRT involved for them. My Mum was tested for BRCA1 and BRCA2 because of her sisters. She did not have the gene.

You also have to remember that as technology moves on they are getting better at detecting breast cancer and we are living longer so there are more older people too.

I have had a friend who had breast cancer at 40 and again at 43. This means I check my breasts every month because I have seen what it does and the treatment. I am still taking HRT because of the relief from the symptoms. You may be in the never gets breast cancer category too.

While there is always some risk with taking any medication, it’s worth bearing in mind that even the highest doses of HRT are much lower than those regularly prescribed in the contraceptive pill, which also causes a slight increase in the risk of breast cancer and blood clots but millions of women still take safely every day.

Did the research you looked at include body identical hormones which are thought to be safer than synthetic? Have you looked at the links between falling oestrogen rates and heart health, or possible links with hormones in women and Alzheimer’s? Osteoporosis? It’s really important to look at the whole picture here, even if you still decide to go a different route.

For me, HRT has been life-changing and I feel the small level of risk is worth it to feel this much better in myself. You might decide differently and that’s also fine. I just think that it’s important to have all of the information.

I guess you could look at it in this way: with the HRT you say you can sleep and run again.... that will improve your overall health, which I believe lessens risk of cancer...

Oestrogen protects against cardio vascular disease which is also one of the main causes of death in older women alongside dementia.

What is your family history? If you have a prevalence of cancer in your family, specifically hormonal cancers, then a chat to your GP may be in order. If you have an immediate familial breast cancer risk, you should already be flagged for screening.

If you are already taking all sensible measures - eating well, not drinking or smoking, regular exercise, normal weight, exercising regularly, minimising stress etc - the benefits of modern bio-indentical HRT will likely outweigh the risks.

Do some proper research from credible medical sources and then make your decision. Rabbit holes are never a good place from which to make a decision.

I was on HRT for years. I got breast cancer. Doesn’t mean one caused the other. One in seven women get breast cancer at some point in their lives. I had other risk factors, family history and I’m overweight. I stopped drinking to reduce my personal risk, got it anyway. I don’t regret the years of bone protection I had as i now have to live without any oestrogen. I weighed up the risks vs benefits at the time.

i hope you can feel better x

My mum was on it for years.

Has had breast cancer twice in her mid-70s. Both time lumpectomy, no chemo or radiation (her choice). HRT was stopped at the first diagnosis. She’s in her 80s now. The decline in her mood and brain clarity has been notable, but that might have happened anyway.

She’s doing better than my gran and great gran. Neither had HRT. Great gran died of cancer and dementia in her mid 70s. Gran died of dementia with horrendous osteoporosis in her early 70s.

I’ll go to my grave with a box of Sandrena clutched in my hands (just in case there is an afterlife and it has menopause in it). My position if coloured by how badly my mental health declined to a dangerous degree in peri. All things considered I’d rather my husband and son had to grieve my passing from a disease, than an incident caused by my own hand. And in the period of life that I have before I shuffle off this mortal coil I want to live as physically & mentally pain free as possible.

All things are a roll of the dice. The cancer risk of HRT was very overblown for a very long time. The health costs of NOT taking it concern me more than any known health costs of being on it.

Thanks everyone this is really helpful and I appreciate the links. I will go and do more reading/listening. I am healthy, exercise regularly, eat well, never smoked, rarely drink. There is no family history of cancers at all so I suppose overall my risks are low.But I am a single parent and part of me is terrified of getting ill, especially cancer as their dad is not there to help. Very good points about the health benefits though, especially alzheimers as I do have a family history of that

This is a difficult one for me as I have just been diagnosed with estrogen positive breast cancer and was taking HRT .
I loved my HRT and it helped me manage a lot of menopause symptoms which were making my life incredibly difficult.
A bit of me does regret taking it as I will never know if it was the link to my cancer but I think you just have to make the right decision in that moment and with the facts to hand . And at that time HRT was the answer and did make my life so much better .
I think most things in life come with risks you just have to weigh up which is the better option for you

I went to an info session about HRT which was very good at explaining the risk. Yes there is a slightly increased cancer risk from taking HRT - this was shown with an infographic of 100 people and the number who might develop cancer due to HRT compared to if they hadn't taken HRT highlighted. Then for comparison purposes the same infographic was shown for all the other risks we accept in our daily lives either to gain practical benefits or avoid painful or difficult alternatuves, and it put it into perspective that there's all sorts of things that we balance the elevated risk with the benefits/avoidance of different negatives and there's no perfect way of living that avoids all risks and negatives. If you are experiencing uncomfortable symptoms that HRT would relieve then it's your choice to set the balance point at which the benefits of the improved quality of life the HRT would bring would outweigh the potentially elevated risk, but that's a decision you are used to making all the time if you ever do any of the other things that are associated with an elevated cancer risk (of which there are literally thousands)

How about rather than the Big Decision of Yes/No you choose a 3-6 month “suck it and see” experiment. There’s no data to suggest use in that time frame could give you cancer. And it will allow you to see how you feel on it and make an informed choice in the future based on how you personally benefitted (or not) from being on it ?

My poor GP faced down an extremely risk averse me when it came to anti-depressants. My heels were so dug in out of fear of the unknown and stuff I’d read on the internet of other people’s less lovely experiences that it felt like choosing to chuck myself off a cliff and hope I landed in a boggy bit at the bottom. That was not appealing AT ALL.

The “suck it see” short term experiment he eventually offered made it feel like jumping off a low stool instead. And I was willing to give that less scary leap into the unknown a try.

I'm sorry to hear that. Wishing you a speedy recovery

Came to post this, it is an excellent evidence based comparison of different risk factors.

OP I started HRT at 42. I took it until I was 50 and then tried coming off it as advised by my gp. The hot flushes came back so I carried on with it (trying to stop at intervals) but then decided to stop completely when I was 52 as I felt 10 years was enough.
However the hot flushes carried on and carried on and after 18 months of it I begged to be put back on it!.

My GP agreed and I've now been back on it for 9 months. I decided that I was prepared to accept any increased risk of breast cancer by that point. However what I did do when I was 50 was sign up to a breast cancer screening trial. I had my first NHS screening at 51.5 and since then have had 3 annual screens as part of the trial. As well as the standard mammogram I have a scan at my local hospital.

Once the trial is over I plan to look into the feasibility and cost of private scans so I can carry on with annual checks.

Good luck!