Last Modified: March 22, 2012 I am worried about taking hormone
pills to help with menopause symptoms. Do they cause cancer?
Gloria DiLullo, MSN, CRNP, OncoLink Content Specialist,
responds: Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was commonly
prescribed for menopausal women to reduce hot flashes, vaginal
dryness, and risk of bone fractures and heart disease. In July
2002, a large study found that HRT was doing more harm than good
and changed physicians' practice almost overnight. The Women's
Health Initiative (WHI) found that taking HRT (estrogen combined
with progestin) resulted in an increased risk of breast cancer,
heart disease, stroke, and blood clots. While there was the
benefit of reduction in bone fractures related to osteoporosis
and fewer colorectal cancer cases, the risks far outweighed
these benefits. Around the same time, the HERS study found that
taking HRT resulted in no decrease in heart attacks in older
women with heart disease. A few years later, the WHI study also
found that taking estrogen alon