Does Hormone Therapy Cause Cancer?

Does Hormone Therapy Cause Cancer?

Hormone
replacement therapy (HRT) is for women experiencing menopausal symptoms. Though
HRT has some risks associated with it, the benefits typically compensate for
the risks.

What is HRT?

Hormones
play an important role in our bodies by controlling fertility, growth, and our
moods.

After
the Menopause, the ovaries stop producing the female sex hormone, known as the
Estrogen. At this time womengo through menopausal symptoms like mood changes
and hot flashes. For some women, these symptoms are very disturbing, the
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can treat them by improving the number of
female sex hormones in the body.

Though
HRT has some risks associated with it, the benefits usually outweigh the risks.
Few complications that can arise through HRT are:

• Venous
  Thromboembolism: The amount, type, and the method of administration of Estrogen
  and Progestogen usually cause a bigger risk of developing Thromboembolic
  diseases. Oral HRT in the form of Estrogen alone or in combination with
  Progestogen may cause venous Thromboembolism.

• Endometrial
  Cancer: When using Estrogen as the only dose, the risk of developing
  Endometrial Cancer is high.

• Breast
  Cancer: Combined HRT is believed to raise the risk of breast cancer

• Stroke:
  There is a small risk associated with the oral use of Estrogen alone or in
  combination.

Risk
of cancer with HRT depends on many factors such as the type of HRT, when is it
started, how long does it take, age and health of the patient.