Warned about cancer risks when prescribed HRT today

[FelicityFlowers]

My GP prescribed me HRT and progesterone today, via a telephone call. We were talking it all through and she said 'you are aware of the increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer aren't you?'

I said my understanding was that there was no increased risk of either cancer and she said that wasn't the case.

So.. who's right? I didn't particularly want to get into a debate as I'm not a doctor but I was a bit

I heard HRT was dodgy years ago.....

@Iflyaway how do you mean? Are you talking about the now more or less debunked study years ago? Do you have experience with HRT and a study you can refer me to showing it's 'a bit dodgy?'

Watch the Davina call documentary on Menopause- cant remember what it’s called. Sorry

@Omgnamechange yes I watched it and it was very informative. I also follow various menopause experts who all state no increased risk

It's unfortunate so many doctors still aren't aware

Dr Louise Newson says not:

Breast cancer is very common. Each woman in the UK has a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer,
regardless of whether they take HRT or not. This means that if you take HRT your risk of breast cancer is 1 in
8, and for women who do not take HRT the risk is also 1 in 8.
There are certain factors that increase your risk of developing breast cancer and these include simply getting
older, being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking, not exercising regularly, and having young family relatives
who have had breast cancer. However, many women develop breast cancer without any of these risk factors.
At Newson Health, the most common reason we hear from women who are scared of taking HRT, is they are
worried about the risk of breast cancer. Here are some facts about HRT and breast cancer which we hope will
reassure you.
There are many different types of HRT and each one has different risks and benefits associated with it. When
people talk about the risks of HRT it is important to be clear which type of HRT they are talking about.
Young women taking HRT do not have a greater risk of breast cancer
What many patients and doctors do not realise is that women who are under 51 years of age have absolutely
no increased risk of getting breast cancer, regardless of the length of time they take HRT for. This is because
women who take HRT when they are young are simply replacing the hormones that their bodies should
otherwise be producing. The average age of the menopause in the UK is 51 years.
It is really important that women and doctors are aware of this. If you do not have the correct type and
strength of HRT when you are young, you will have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis (weakening of
the bones) and heart disease. Taking HRT reduces these risks.
Women who have had a hysterectomy and take HRT do not have a greater risk
of breast cancer
Numerous studies have shown that women who take estrogen­only HRT do not have a higher risk of breast
cancer. Some studies have actually shown these women have a lower risk of breast cancer than women not
taking HRT.
The increased risk of breast cancer with taking combined HRT is very low or
not increased at all
Some studies show that taking combined HRT (i.e. HRT containing both estrogen and a progestogen) may be
associated with a very small increased risk of breast cancer. However, the media have misinterpreted this
information and presented the risk as far greater than it actually is, leading women to feel confused and
anxious about the perceived risk of breast cancer.
The increased risk is related to the type of progestogen in the HRT. Taking micronised progesterone (the body
identical progesterone) is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, for the first five years of taking it. After five years, the risk of breast cancer is very low and seems to be lower than the risk for a woman
taking the older types of progestogen.
Even for women taking the older types of progestogen, the risk is very low. A recent review of all the research
studies concluded that current scientific evidence (for older types of progestogen) does not confirm, or
dispute, that taking HRT causes breast cancer.
The level of increased risk of breast cancer, with the older types of combined HRT, is similar to the level of risk
of breast cancer that any women has if they are overweight or drink around two glasses of wine a day.
In addition, there is no evidence that shows there is an increased risk of death from breast cancer, in women
who take HRT.
If you have a strong family history of breast cancer, or have had breast cancer yourself in the past, you might
still be able to take some types of HRT. It is best to discuss your options with your GP, or a doctor who
specialises in the menopause.

Good info on the balance website.

@Iflyaway is very out of date.

Here's a fact sheet as a good start.

balance-menopause.com/uploads/2021/09/Breast-Cancer-and-HRT.pdf

Well, I have been prescribed femoston 1/10, and started tablets today. Leaflet worried me for your reasons and more.
However, doctor, by email said do 3 month trial also that risks more a concern after 5 years. I have started today on the tablets and will see how it goes. Also told could review hrt given if issues.
At no point have I seen my gp but did have health check with nurse.

i heard that its the progesterone that is the issue thats why many now are oestrogen based (cld be wrong)

@Iflyaway

I heard HRT was dodgy years ago.....

Yes, that was 20 years ago, and the study it was based on (the women's health initiative) has now been discredited.

If you still have periods and therefore your womb, you need the progesterone to protect against womb cancer - the oestrogen thickens the lining and the progesterone is required to stop this getting out of hand

I am 55 and still having periods...
Hence started hrt on first day of period today.

@ASinisterPlot thanks for that link

There is a small increase in risk, just like there is from the pill but it helps with other conditions and if your quality of life is better then the balance may be it's right for you. I'm not taking it though, my ex is a scientist in this field and does understand the science, he wasn't keen on me taking the pill either (he had the snip so I could come off it)

Everyone should read the NICE guidelines on HRT - especially GPs and other doctors.

Mine are woefully ignorant.

I've been prescribed oestrogel and micronised progesterone- do I need to start on first day of my period?

@Iflyaway is very out of date

Probably. I'm 66 now.

But, Had a child after endometriosis,

Who can tell what life has in store....

The way I looked at it was the increased cancer risk was like having an extra glass of wine per week or a bacon sandwich.

I can - and do - live without the bacon sarnie, but I need my white wine on a Friday evening.

@Tulipomania that's a good way of looking at it

Well, love a glass of wine. That would be hard to stop! Don't eat bacon, not overweight, and just had clear mammogram. My anxiety and brain fog are such I was scared I have dementia. Petrified. I need to try this and review if need be. As time goes on maybe need to stop or change hrt...

Most recent I have seen is this from BMJ

Yana Vinogradova, Carol Coupland, Julia Hippisley-Cox. Use of hormone replacement therapy and risk of breast cancer: nested case-control studies using the QResearch and CPRD databases. BMJ, 2020; m3873 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m3873

“Overall, 33,703 (34%) women with a diagnosis of breast cancer and 134,391 (31%) controls had used HRT recently or in the past.

Risk increases were mostly associated with estrogen-progestogen treatments, but small increases were also associated with estrogen only treatments.

For example, for recent long-term users, compared with never use there was a 15% associated increased risk of developing breast cancer for estrogen only therapy, while there was a 79% associated increased risk for combined estrogen and progestogen therapy.

Past long term use of estrogen only therapy and past short term use of estrogen-progestogen were not associated with increased risk. The risk associated with past long term estrogen-progestogen use, however, remained increased (16%).

To put these risks into context, in recent estrogen only users, between three (in younger women) and eight (in older women) extra cases per 10,000 women years would be expected, and in estrogen-progestogen users between nine and 36 extra cases per 10,000 women years.

For past estrogen-progestogen users, the results would suggest between two and eight extra cases per 10000 women years.”

😥 not what I want to hear...

@DinkyDaisy why? You don't think that's a really measured and reassuring article shared by @PlanDeRaccordement ?

[quote Psychonabike]Good info on the balance website.

@Iflyaway is very out of date.

Here's a fact sheet as a good start.

balance-menopause.com/uploads/2021/09/Breast-Cancer-and-HRT.pdf[/quote]
A fact sheet with zero references? How did they come up with their statistics then with no references to scientific studies?

I guess I'm on the combined tablets so more risk?
However, not good at thinking things through without worrying at the moment!

@DinkyDaisy did you take the pill at any point? Have a Covid jab? Have a coil fitted? Receive a flu jab? Etc etc

All of the above come with risks. HRT does too. But those risks are very small. Have you looked at the protective benefits of HRT?