HRT safe for women with breast cancer

An Australian study has shown that it is safe for women who have had breast cancer to receive HRT without the risk of the disease recurring.

A long-term study of 1122 women has shown that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which includes a higher than usual dose of the hormone progesterone, actually appears to reduce the risk of a breast cancer relapse by as much as 57%.

‘The clinical problem is that about half of women who’ve had breast cancer have problems with menopausal symptoms,’ said Associate Professor Eden, Director of the Sydney Menopause Centre at Randwick’s Royal Hospital for Women.

This also included younger women who had early menopause triggered by chemotherapy and older women who suffered ongoing symptoms from the use of the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen.

(Source: The Cancer Council of Australia)