I've been saying for more
than twenty years that HRT causes breast cancer. It's almost guaranteed
if you've been on it for a long time. Even sooner if you smoke,
too. Nobody was listening to me. Gee, I can't imagine why.
Plus the people that make HRT had a
pretty good PR machine in place to make you think otherwise. Hey, they
had the doctors fooled.
Then somebody said, wait a minute,
let's not just listen to the pharmaceutical people about the safety of
HRT. They may have a vested interest in selling this stuff. So
the NIH began a HUGE study and stopped it cold a couple of years ago
with a warning -- HRT DOES cause breast cancer; it doesn't prevent heart
disease, etc., etc., pretty much reversing all the bullshit the
manufacturers were slinging.
Now a couple of years later, it has
become simple arithmetic. Suddenly a whole bunch of women stopped
using HRT because of the warning, and just as suddenly breast cancer
rates for women that age [50+] dropped like a stone.
Secondly -- here's the next thing
they will discover. Young women who went on birth control in high
school and continued for twenty years into their thirties are getting
breast cancer just like the HRT ladies.
That's right, long term use of birth control also
causes breast cancer. Not fun when you're in your thirties.
Pretty obvious, though, when you consider that the ingredients in HRT and the
pill are pretty much the same.
I wonder how long Cheryl Crow was
on the pill. She had to be. Since she is over forty, twenty years
is quite possible.
Somewhere, someone is keeping
statistics with the actual numbers of women on the pill who get breast
cancer. Or conversely, they are tracking the number of women who get breast
cancer who happen to be on the pill.
Only you can't find those numbers anywhere, because the people keeping track of them are the people who make the pills.
Just like the tobacco companies who knew all along that nicotine was
addictive. And that smoking cigarettes caused lung cancer.
I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies have known all along that HRT and the pill
cause much more breast cancer than they wanted us to realize. Why do you think they kept lowering the dosage?
The numbers are buried in the archives somewhere. Or being shredded as we speak.
One of these days somebody will come up with a class action suit against the
makers of the pill. But, probably not until there's an
alternative, easy to use, failsafe birth control to take its
place.
Most women are willing to take sex without pregnancy NOW and worry about breast cancer getting them later.
9 comments:
My mom was way ahead of her time. When I was young and she figured out I was sexually active, she took me to a doc who put in an IUD. Most wouldn't put one in a young lady who'd never had kids. But, she was a nurse and knew who would. I think I was lucky 'cause my days on the pill were very limited. Thanks to her.
Pam
Claping loudly for your sage wisdom. I fought with 3 doctors and my own husband (who is a doc) because I refused to take HRT's. I figured there were billions of women ahead of me who had not taken it and went through menopause and lived to tell about it. I am also refusing to take fosomax for my bones too. I don't know if that is a good thing or not.......took it for two years and it showed NO improvement. I was only on birth control for 3 yrs before I insisted my husband get clipped. So, I think I shall go have some Northwestern salmon and some red wine now. <smile> Anne
Part of the trouble is that we trust our doctors. The gynecologist who prescribed my first hormones told me there was no proof that estrogen caused cancer, and not only that, but it gave you stronger bones and would help guard against heart attack. All that has since been disproved.
When my family doctor kept asking if the gynecologist was still prescribing HRT for me, something about his manner of asking made me realize he didn't approve. So I went off them without consulting anyone. I took them for probably twelve years. I do have some "personal problems" with my love life that the hormones did help for sure, but it isn't worth the risk of cancer. I can deal with the problems in other ways.
I don't think most doctors want to intentionally cause harm, but unfortunately they do. There's an actual diagnosis for a condition CAUSED by your doctor. It's an IATROGENIC disease or condition. Weird, huh? Do your research BEFORE you put all your faith in your doctor and stick to your guns. Old family doctors are frequently the worst, at least for women. They live in a male dominated world that still exists in the dark ages. Of course, that's only my opinion.
This is why I prefer to have hot flashes and dry skin. I don't think HRT can be good for you, it can't be. And what about the pill that stops your period??? Can THAT be a good thing??? And why can' t they figure out a pill for the guys to take so it doesn't affect us at all?????
I've noticed that everytime a drug company comes out with a magic bullet, it's about four years later when all the health hazards start popping up. Let's face facts - the primary function of a doctor is to treat symptoms, not cure a problem. If they cured shit in the first place none of this would happen.
Even after a total hysterectomy, no estrogen? I tried going off once, and had hot flashes - like 6 an hour, 24/7, so went back on. It was my decision to try off - you are making me want to get off and stay off. I was almost ready to do it when my endo said stay on. Sigh. What to do?
xoxo
SUZYPWR --
Total hysterectomy -- which also takes your ovaries, just so we're clear -- is a different story. You need the estrogen that your ovaries used to produce. You no longer need the progesterone part of HRT because you're not trying to have a period.
Ovaries produce estrogen in lesser amounts for many years after periods stop. As long as you still have them. That's why we should not let docs take them out if they remove our uteruses. They usually just take them IN CASE they MIGHT go bad. It's an insurance thing. Do they take men's testicles when they have their prostates removed? Don't get me started.
The best use of HRT would be to start it in our late sixties or early seventies when our ovaries have finally stopped working. Perhaps our thoughtful docs could test us to find out when we're not making any more hormones.
Instead of starting HRT as early as they do now -- in our forties and fifties when the amount of hormones ends up double dosing our bodies for years and setting us up for estrogen related breast cancer. Don't forget uterine cancer, too.
Having said all that, don't forget I'm not a doctor.
Mrs. L
It's a dangerous thing, I think that the pharmies have so much control over what is released to the public and what isn't, information-wise. Don't quite trust them.
This HRT thing is something all women should be mindful of, no matter what age they are.
Thanks, Mrs L.
Anna
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