Estrogen Matters
Why Taking Hormones in Menopause Can Improve Women's Well-Being and Lengthen Their Lives -- Without Raising the Risk of Breast Cancer
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4.5 • 15 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A compelling defense of hormone replacement therapy, exposing the faulty science behind its fall from prominence and empowering women to make informed decisions about their health.
For years, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was hailed as a miracle. Study after study showed that HRT, if initiated at the onset of menopause, could ease symptoms ranging from hot flashes to memory loss; reduce the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, and some cancers; and even extend a woman's overall life expectancy. But when a large study by the Women's Health Initiative announced results showing an uptick in breast cancer among women taking HRT, the winds shifted abruptly, and HRT, officially deemed a carcinogen, was abandoned.
Now, sixteen years after HRT was left for dead, Dr. Bluming, a medical oncologist, and Dr. Tavris, a social psychologist, track its strange history and present a compelling case for its resurrection. They investigate what led the public -- and much of the medical establishment -- to accept the Women's Health Initiative's often exaggerated claims, while also providing a fuller picture of the science that supports HRT.
A sobering and revelatory read, Estrogen Matters sets the record straight on this beneficial treatment and provides an empowering path to wellness for women everywhere.
Customer Reviews
Every woman should read this!
I find it appalling that so many of us who have survived breast cancer have been deprived of the benefits of HRT. No discussion whatsoever with any of my treating physicians about even considering HRT because of its benefits throughout my breast cancer journey which began in the mid 90’s at age 45. As I look at the data presented in this book (and I do have background in reading medical clinical trials), I am appalled at the conclusion the investigators arrived at in the WHI. I want to cry over the fact that I am now at a severe risk of fracture from osteoporosis even though I have religiously taken bisphosphonates, calcium and Vitamin D over the years. Might my story be different? Vaginal atrophy has become an ever worsening problem. Might that story be different? I have already had precancerous polyps in the colon. Might that story be different? My brother, as an Ob/Gyn was the only person who encouraged me to consider HRT, but I was at a major medical center in Chicago and surely all of those prestigious doctors knew best when I questioned them. I am now beyond the window of treatment, but those behind me could greatly benefit from this knowledge.
Estrogen Matters
This book should be mandatory reading for women of any age and for men who care about any woman.
I am a retired physician who specialized in breast disease for more than 40 years and never read a more organized and conclusive evaluation of estrogen and hormone replacement therapy.