By Sharon Arthur for Gino Tutera, MD
Founder of SottoPelle Therapy
With National Breast Cancer Awareness Month upon us, we turned to the experts at SottoPelle for an update on the relationship between breast cancer and hormone replacement therapy.
One of the top health concerns women express regarding hormone replacement therapy is safety. And for good reason. Since the 1970s, there has been abundant scientific evidence showing that women using pharmaceutical hormones face far greater risk of developing breast cancer, heart disease and a host of other serious illnesses. In recent years, two very large studies – the Women’s Health Initiative in the U.S. (Source) and the Million Women Study in Britain (Source) – reported both a higher incidence and number of deaths from breast cancer using a combination of pharmaceutical estrogen and artificial progesterone (progestins).
But what about bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT)? Actually, the opposite is true. Positive research outcomes are becoming increasingly prevalent. A significant review of literature published in 2008 points to a large body of research since the 1940s showing that women who use bio-identical HRT are actually at reduced risk for developing breast cancer (Source).
Case in point: A study carried out in the Netherlands between 1972 and mid-1990, showed no increase in breast cancer cases during the use of subcutaneous estradiol pellets. French researcher, Agnes Fournier, likewise reported in the January 2008 volume of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment that a follow-up survey of 80,377 French women receiving bio-identical estrogen and bio-identical progesterone showed no increased risk of breast cancer—statistically, very significant (Source).
In my own 10-year study of 967 women using SottoPelle subcutaneous pellet therapy, only one incidence of breast cancer occurred. Statistically, I should have seen 100 cases.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the ideal opportunity to schedule your annual breast exam and encourage your friends to do likewise. My best advice to reduce your risk for breast cancer would be to avoid pharmaceutical hormones, maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking and exercise regularly.
If you’re experiencing the symptoms of hormone deficiency, seek an expert in BHRT who can help you achieve hormonal balance – the gateway to healthy aging.
Gino Tutera, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., physician, author and leading authority on bio-identical hormones, announces the launch of his new book, You Don’t Have to Live with It! The Science of SottoPelle. To order a copy, visit sottopelletherapy.com or call 480.874.1515.
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