Hormone Replacement Therapy - "One fourth of all postmenopausal women in the United States now take some form of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) to relieve hot flashes, mood swings, vaginal dryness, and other effects of menopause." Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) uses drugs to deal with the symptoms of menopause, and has been widely promoted for such use with claims of prevention of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. The downside to such medication is the increased risk for breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and blood clots. (Source:Hormone Replacement Therapy: Weighing the Hazards and Rewards. Clinician Reviews 7(9))

Ineffective Drugs Allow Heart Attacks - The results of the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) as published in the August 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that use of the combination estrogen/progestin in postmenopausal women with heart disease did not prevent further heart attacks or death from coronary heart disease (CHL)). In fact, in the first two years of therapy they found an increased risk for CHD "events" such as heart attack (more overall events than the placebo group) and an overall increased risk of blood clots and gallbladder disease. The authors of the HERS study conclude that estrogen plus progestin should not be started in women with CHD to prevent heart attacks. (Source- AP. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) August 18, 1998; "Hormone Replacement therapy Not Effective in Secondary Prevention of CHD in Postmenopausal Women". Medscape Editors, August 18, 1998.)

The Breast Cancer Link- Hormone Replacement Therapy might give you strong bones, but it seems that these strong bones also put you at increased risk for breast cancer. A 1996 edition of Medical Tribune identified an association between high bone-mineral density (BMD) and an increased risk of breast cancer. The findings as written in the JAMA "suggest that before estrogen replacement therapy becomes widely used for indications other than osteoporosis, that the balance of risks and benefits of hormone-replacement-therapy should be re-evaluated with respect to BMD, osteoporosis, breast cancer, and coronary heart disease." But one-fourth of this nations' postmenopausal women take the drug not for prevention of these other diseases, but to treat the symptoms of menopause A 1998 study posted in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that those with the highest bone mineral density had a 48% higher risk of breast cancer than those with lowest density. The authors feel that some women may just be more sensitive to the hormone than others. Is it that some women are @'too sensitive" to the hormone, or are they just getting too much of it? Between estrogen replacement therapy, birth control pills, environmental estrogens, and estrogens that we ingest in the food supply, would it be surprising that cancer is just a way that a woman's body responds to an estrogen overload? (Source: Medical Tribune: Family Physician Edition 37(21):1996. American Journal of Epidemiology 1998;148.)

Nature's Course - A breast cancer expert and surgeon, Dr. Susan Love has received much attention for her opposition to the medical community's treatment of menopause, treating this life change as if it were a disease in the face of huge profits by the medical establishment. The whole idea that these hormones need to be replaced is wrong. After childbearing age passes, the need for high levels of hormones decreases. The period leading up to menopause is a time of great hormone fluctuation, when the body gets balanced for its new needs. Women's ovaries continue to produce hormones into their 80's, but at an appropriate level dictated by their needs. While studies have shown some benefit of estrogen on osteoporosis, one in four women actually develop fractures due to osteoporosis, and usually not until their 80's. Love is leery of hormones to prevent osteoporosis and heart disease, especially when long term use of estrogen can increase the risk for breast cancer, and when diet and exercise can prevent all three. The ideas that Dr. Love communicates'. reflects the "Innate" philosophy of chiropractic. Menopause is not a disease to be treated. It is not a flaw in the human design that hormone levels suddenly decrease after childbearing age. Focusing on prevention - proper diet, exercise, and chiropractic care for a healthy immune system - is the key to wellness.