Breast Cancer News You Need to Know
The Link between Synthetic Hormone Replacement and Breast Cancer
Breast cancer rates soared in the 1980s, 1990s and peaked in 2001. Guess what? The increase in breast cancer diagnosis paralleled a surge in the number of prescriptions written for synthetic hormone replacement therapies (HRT) such as Prempro and Premarin. When the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study first reported that synthetic HRT could increase the risk of breast cancer, many women tossed their pills down the toilet despite the fact that their physicians and the drug manufacturers pooh-poohed the possible association. Today, new stats from Kaiser Permanente Northwest validate the wisdom of those women who took their health back into their own hands.
Breast cancer rates have dropped as much as 18% from 2003 through 2006. This decrease directly coincides with a drop in the number of prescriptions written for synthetic HRT (from approximately 90 million to less than 20 million) following the release of the WHI results. According to Phillip O. Warner, M.D., a well-respected physician and medical researcher in the field of menopause and hormone replacement, “The evidence that synthetic hormones cause invasive hormone positive breast cancer is now uncontroversial and generally accepted.”
Bio-Identical Progesterone: Possible Protector Against Hormone Positive Breast
Cancer
A hormone positive breast cancer tumor is a tumor that needs hormones, specifically estrogen, in order to grow and progress. The medical term for these types of tumors is
estrogen receptor-positive. A critical question is “Where does the tumor get the estrogen that feeds its growth?” The answer can be different for different women. Let me explain. Estrogen and progesterone hormones are produced by the female ovaries. Estrogen fuels cell growth, which, if unchecked, can be a precursor of cancer.
When the internal levels of estrogen and progesterone are balanced, however, progesterone neutralizes estrogen’s ability to stimulate cell growth. In other words, progesterone evidences a natural anti-estrogenic action. When internal progesterone levels are sufficient to balance estrogen levels there will not be enough “extra” estrogen circulating within the body to stimulate estrogen receptor-positive tumor growth.
In addition to synthetic hormone replacement therapy, two other common factors can cause the ratio of progesterone to estrogen to become unbalanced and thereby foster a condition of estrogen dominance. These are age and body fat. When the body is estrogen dominant, estrogen dependent tumors get “fed” and they grow.
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Age creates a naturally occurring condition of estrogen dominance. In all women, progesterone production begins to decline in the early to mid- thirties. Progesterone levels actually decline 120x more rapidly than estrogen levels.
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Fatty tissue within the body also produces estrogen. This means, that regardless of her age, if a woman is overweight she is more likely to be estrogen dominant.
Today, in the United States, Tamoxifen is the drug of choice to treat estrogen dependant breast cancer tumors. Tamoxifen acts as an anti-estrogen thereby blocking estrogen’s ability to stimulate cell growth. But Tamoxifen is prescribed after a woman has a breast cancer tumor. What can a woman do to proactively nullify her chances of getting an estrogen dependant tumor? Is there anything that can be done preventatively? Absolutely. The anti-estrogen action of bio-identical progesterone can help prevent the occurrence and metastasis of estrogen receptor-positive tumors. This is not just my opinion. Multiple medical studies examining the anti-estrogen action of bio-identical progesterone in breast tissue validate this premise. (Link www.womeninbalance.org/research/breast.html).
My clinical experience is a testimony. In over a decade of treating over ten thousand women suffering from hormone imbalances, I have only had two patients on my bio-identical progesterone therapy regimen develop breast cancer. The national average is 1 out of every 8 women.
A Large Round of Applause for Comcast ON DEMAND
I am very excited that, to help raise awareness and provide important information about breast cancer, Comcast is launching Breast Cancer Hope. This is a first-of-its-kind video-on-demand and online initiative that brings together educational and inspirational content for all women who want and need to know more about breast cancer.
Comcast is working with Lifetime, which is serving as the sponsor of Breast Cancer Hope, as well as The Style Network, HBO, Discovery Health, Exercise TV and breastcancer.org, the leading online site for medically reviewed and up-to-date information about breast cancer, to present dozens of programs about detecting and living with breast cancer, as well as discussion forums, health and fitness advice and relevant news clips.
Continuing throughout October, Comcast customers with ON DEMAND service will have access to more than 40 programs in five topical areas:
- Inspiration: six episodes of HBO’s Sex and the City featuring Samantha’s (Kim Cattrall) battle with breast cancer; segments from the Lifetime series Intimate Portraits featuring profiles of Ann Curry, Betsey Johnson and Rosanna Arquette, as well as the Emmy(R)-nominated Lifetime original movie, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, starring Sarah Chalke (Scrubs); the documentary Dear Talula, about a young mother who discovers she has breast cancer; and from Discovery Health, personal and motivational stories from cancer survivors such as I Have Breast Cancer: Janice’s Journey.
- Fact or Fiction: exclusive content created by Lifetime and breastcancer.org featuring interviews with doctors and other health professionals that offer a patient’s perspective about what to expect from visits to specialists like radiologists, breast surgeons, oncologists, plastic surgeons and genetics counselors.
- What’s My Risk: from Discovery Health’s series Breast Health: New Hope, programming on breast cancer causes, prevention and treatment are featured along with the experiences of families affected by the disease; healthy-cooking recipes from Comcast’s Digital Cookbook series; mini workouts from Exercise TV; and breast-cancer-related episodes from Comcast’s Seeking Solutions with Suzanne and It’s Your Call with Lynn Doyle.
- Breast Cancer Info: programs following women from the diagnosis stage through treatment and exploring plastic surgery and reconstruction options.
- Fashion Tips: advice for patients and survivors, from demonstrations of how to wear a scarf to makeover shows, including special segments from The Style Network’s popular series, How Do I Look? and Whose Wedding is it Anyway?
Comcast also is making a wide range of breast cancer information available online at www.comcast.net/breastcancer. On that site, visitors can view video news reports, read and post to message boards about breast cancer. If you are a “believer” in the breast health benefits of bio-identical progesterone, or if you simply want to learn more about the research behind its cancer-protective properties, join me in logging on to let Comcast know that in 2008 this is a topic that must be highlighted!
I wish you WELL!
Dr. Randolph
Source: http://www.hormonewell.com
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This publication is a MUST HAVE consumer guide to purchasing and using bioidentical progesterone.
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