Newbury Town Library

Estrogen matters, why taking hormones in menopause can improve women's well-being and lengthen their lives-- without raising the risk of breast cancer, Avrum Bluming, MD, and Carol Tavris, PhD

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-302) and index

index present

non fiction

Estrogen matters

bibliography

1019604836

Avrum Bluming, MD, and Carol Tavris, PhD

why taking hormones in menopause can improve women's well-being and lengthen their lives-- without raising the risk of breast cancer

"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 a path to wellness for women everywhere."--Jacket

Introduction: Who killed HRT? -- Does estrogen cause breast cancer? -- The "change of life" and the quality of life -- Matters of the heart -- Breaking bad -- Losing and using our minds -- Can breast cancer survivors take estrogen? -- Progesterone and the pill -- Debates, decisions, and final lessons in the case for HRT