Until 1942, women simply endured the discomfort that accompanied
menopause. That year, the first synthetic estrogen, Premarin,
was patented and sold as a treatment for menopausal symptoms. A
few years later, Dr. Robert A. Wilson's book, Feminine Forever,
touted estrogen as the cure for the "tragedy of menopause."
Premarin sales soared as women demanded it from their doctors.
However, in 1975, the New England Journal of Medicine published
two studies showing that women who took estrogen alone without
progesterone had a higher risk of endometrial cancer, and the
risk doubled for women who stayed on estrogen for seven years or
more. Doctors responded by prescribing a synthetic progesterone,
called progestin, along with estrogen. Combination estrogen-
progestin hormone replacement therapy (HRT) became the standard
prescription for menopausal symptoms. A variety of synthetic
estrogen/progestin products were available, all promising to
relieve the hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, loss of
libido and other s