Re breast cancer

[autienotnaughty]

Hi would appreciate some advice. Im 46 I have been feeling dreadful for about a year now. Insomnia, fatigue, brain fog, aches and pains. I decided to go doctors and saw a nurse practitioner who was lovely and talked me through hrt. We decided to run bloods and see if anything showed up. Low iron came up so I decided to take iron for a month and see if there are any improvements. If not I'd go back for hrt.

. A month later still feeling rubbish so decided to go back. Saw same nurse asked for hrt, she started saying I'm probably not suitable as my mum had breast cancer. (Aged 64) . I asked why I wasn't suitable and she said increased risk of cancer but then said newer treatments have less risk. She then asked me if I wanted to take the risk? So I asked for figures. She doesn't know so she's going to ask a menopause clinic in the nearest city. And let me know.

I now feel blind sided , based on the previous conversation I d worked myself up to trying it and now I've been told no.

Does anyone know the facts? Have any advice?

Thanks

No, you need to see a GP. I see a GP who specialises in women health as I had had PMDD style symptoms before starting HRT (I think it was probably menopause symptoms) and my GP didn’t know enough to recommend a specific type of HRT. My HRT specialising GP has no problem with prescribing me HRT even though my Mum had breast cancer.

The increased risk of getting breast cancer as a results of HRT is less than increased risk if you’re over weight or if you drank a glass of wine a night.

Also just remembered my sister takes hrt

My mother AND grandmother both had breast cancer and my consultant didn't bat an eyelid at prescribing me HRT.

In 2014 my sister (age 53) was told not to take HRT by 2 GPs. Because of the breast cancer potential

10 years later, so now (!) she's been told it's fine to use oestrogen pessaries, but not HRT tablets or patches (because of her age and potential breast cancer)

It's a bloody minefield 🙄

The study that showed this risk was the now largely discredited Habits study and that was 20 years ago using the old type of HRT. Many GPs don’t bother to update themselves or read the latest research on this.

There’s a very good book called ‘Oestrogen Matters’ on this. But as another poster said there are far more things that we do in life that increase the risk of breast cancer more than HRT.

I would recommend finding an expert in this area though if you want to be reassured.

I see it was a nurse practitioner you spoke to. She just won’t have been well informed. Speak to a doctor trained in menopause.

Thank you everyone. I decided to look at a private consultation and discovered a doctor at my surgery is a women's health specialist . When I made the original appointment I asked if anyone was a specialist and got told th nurse practitioner was the best option 😡 I have a doctors appointment next week