Hormones’ Breast Cancer Risk Confirmed

A study released this week has left further questions about how to deal with menopause symptoms, The Providence Journal reported October 21. The new study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It included long-term statistics on women who took hormone replacement therapy. They were part of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative. That study reported in 2002 that taking hormone replacement therapy for more than five years increased the risk of breast cancer and heart disease. The new study kept track of the women for an average of 11 years. It confirmed the women’s higher risk of breast cancer. And it found the cancers were also more likely to be advanced and deadly. Experts interviewed by the Journal disagreed on whether women should take hormones for menopause symptoms. One said hormones in a different form may be safe.