Artificial Hormones Increase Risk for Recurring Cancers

New evidence has been discovered that indicates the use of synthetic Hormone Replacement Therapy after a bout with breast cancer can increase the likelihood of the cancer returning or a new cancer developing. This is just another one of many reasons why synthetic HRT should be avoided or at least investigated fully before use, while implementing natural hormone replacement along with a healthy lifestyle may lead to better overall health and decrease the incidence of reproductive cancers and other debilitating diseases in women and men who use them.

Traditional cancer treatments are so toxic in and of themselves that they often cause new malignancies to occur during actual treatment or long after treatment has been completed. Combine these traditional cancer treatments with synthetic HRT, and the risks become even greater. Altering hormonal balances artificially can produce many dangerous side effects in both women and men. Again, make sure that you are aware of these risks before saying yes to treatment. The drug companies and the FDA continually dance around the issues and try to minimize the hazards, but manipulating the body with such chemicals is inherently risky and can lead to many serious short-term and long-term health problems.


HRT Ups Cancer Recurrence
Reported April 1, 2008

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A diagnosis of breast cancer does not mix well with hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

According to European researchers, women who take HRT after a bout with breast cancer are significantly more likely to see their cancer return or to develop a new malignancy.

The investigators compared two groups of women, both with about 220 participants. The first group received HRT after cancer treatment, while the second did not. Over a median follow-up of four years, 39 women in the HRT group had a recurrence of their cancer or a new cancer, compared to 17 in the non-HRT group. The researchers estimate an overall five year disease recurrence rate of about 22 percent for women taking HRT, versus about nine percent for those who forego treatment with hormones. That puts the absolute increased risk due to HRT at about 14 percent.

In an accompanying editorial, Kathy I. Pritchard, M.D., of the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Center in Toronto, notes this is one of the first studies to take a randomized, controlled approach to gauging the effects of HRT on women who have had breast cancer and is helping to settle the debate that has raged in the medical community about whether or not these drugs are appropriate for breast cancer survivors.

Although randomized data concerning use of HRT for symptomatic intervention in breast cancer survivors are still sparse, it seems that the harmful side effects of HRT have finally been clearly demonstrated, Dr. Pritchard writes.

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