Apr 2004 - Study Plans to Retest Use of Hormones
Despite studies in recent years finding that hormone therapy after menopause did women more harm than good, researchers at a group of major medical centers have decided to test the treatment again because they still suspect it may have benefits, particularly for younger women. The researchers hope to find out whether hormones can protect against artery disease if women start treatment early in menopause.

Mar 2004 - Possible Peril Found in Menopause Cream
A popular cream that eases the symptoms of menopause exposes women to higher levels of the hormone progesterone than has been commonly thought, researchers have found.

Pro-Gest, one of more than two dozen creams containing natural progesterone, is a widely used alternative to synthetic hormone therapies that have been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Millions of tubes of progesterone cream are sold annually.

Mar 2004 - The Menopause Market -- Salon -- by Pamela Paul
"There's been a tremendous increase in new product development and marketing since the WHI study," says Wulf Utian, executive director of the North American Menopause Society. "All sorts of stuff is being pitched to 'the menopause market.' For many of these companies, whether their products work or not is irrelevant. In fact, most of the stuff in the health-food store are just expensive placebos that women think are safe because they've got 'natural' on the label." According to Utian, "They're preying on a vulnerable and gullible population."

Mar 2004- National Hormone Therapy Study Halted -- Nearly 11,000 American women received a letter from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) this past Monday explaining that the estrogen hormone therapy clinical trial they had been involved in was being stopped a year earlier than planned due to the unacceptable health risks associated with the treatment.

Feb 2004 - SWEDEN -- Scandinavian scientists announced Tuesday that they have called off a study of the effects of hormone-replacement therapy for women with a history of breast cancer because early results showed an "unacceptably high" risk of recurrence.

Their findings add to earlier reports that using hormone replacement to control menopausal symptoms carries significant health risks. 

Eighteen months ago, U.S. scientists abruptly ended the nation's biggest study of hormone-replacement therapy using the combined hormones estrogen and progestin, saying long-term use significantly increases the risk of breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks.

In the Scandinavian study, half the women were on replacement therapy and the other half on a non-hormonal treatment. In the HRT group, 26 women had a recurrence or a new case of breast cancer compared with seven women among those who took the other treatment.

Jan 2004 The North American Menopause Society Releases Position Statement on the Treatment of Menopause-Related Hot Flashes Treatment of hot flashes, especially those moderate to severe in intensity, has focused primarily on estrogen therapy. However, recent studies questioning the benefit-risk ratio of long-term estrogen use have increased the search for alternative treatments. Read more....

Jan 2004 Women Told to Avoid HRT:The Globe and Mail is Reporting: "Women should not take hormone-replacement therapy to treat the symptoms of menopause, except in rare instances, the Canadian Cancer Society said yesterday (January 8th) in one of the bluntest public health warnings yet issued about the controversial treatment." Read article...

Dec 2003 Summing it up for 2003? Read report....
and....
For 15 years Sidney Constien of Malvern, Pa., took hormone therapy for symptoms of menopause. “I kept asking the doctor, ‘How long do I have to take this?’ He kept saying, ‘How long do you want to live?’” Bolstered by the widespread belief that hormone therapy prevented heart disease in postmenopausal women, Constien stayed on it. Then, in the spring of 2002, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Read more....

Nov 2003 Excellent!! Not by hormones alone: Women with questions about hormone replacement therapy are supplementing, or even replacing, pharmaceuticals with alternative treatments for menopausal symptoms

Oct 2003  Very good article from Better Homes and Gardens Menopause: Staying Healthy Without Hormone Replacement Therapy 
By Leslie Laurence
Now that doctors concede that hormone therapy is more menace than miracle, what's a woman to do if she's to stay healthy, sexy, and strong? 

Sept 19, 2003 NAMS: Increased Risk of Dementia in Postmenopausal Women on Hormone Therapy
"Results indicated that women on hormone therapy were twice as likely to have probable dementia as those not taking hormones. Estimated analysis determined that hormone therapy causes an excess of 23 dementia cases per 10,000 women."

Aug 8, 2003  Very good live Q& A with JoAnn Pinkerton, Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn and director of a Women's Midlife Health Center at the University of Virginia

July 28, 2003 Doctors Trivialize Change of Life Symptoms, Menopausal Women Say A new J.D. Power and Associates survey of menopausal women released today finds that many women aren’t talking about their symptoms with their doctors, who often trivialize symptoms and leave decisions about treatment up to their patients. The survey, commissioned by the National Consumers League (NCL), surveyed more than 800 women not currently taking hormone therapy and found that, as the severity of menopausal symptoms increases, satisfaction levels with doctor-patient relationship decreases. Additionally, women surveyed reported that the perceived physical, emotional, and personal impact of symptoms increases along with their severity.

July 21, 2003 Hormone replacement therapy has received some serious blows, but older women still have plenty of promising options for managing menopause. Forbes Magazine (obviously, we're still dealing with the financial aspects of hormones...why else would Forbes be interested in this issue?)

July 20, 2003 Hormone therapy's rise and fall: Science lost its way and women lost out Boston Globe 

July 2003 A FLAWED CHOICE: Three women, three views on hormone therapy Miami Herald 

June 2003 Time to Forget HRT? Washington Post

May 27, 2003 Hormone pills now linked to dementia
By Lindsey Tanner / AP Medical Writer

May 2003 Hormone Therapy Not Risky for Heart Disease in First Year

Apr 2003 FDA Seeks Evidence on Hormone Pill 
    Drug for Menopause Hot Flashes Could Be Taken Off Market

Mar 2003 FDA OKs version of hormone therapy drug
  * Cnn interview with Dr. Susan Love about this approval

Feb 2003... Rethinking HRT?

Jan 2003... FDA Approves New Labels for Estrogen and Estrogen with Progestin Therapies for Postmenopausal Women Following Review of Women's Health Initiative Data

NY Times says:
IT'S official: no longer will the hormones many women take at menopause be called "hormone replacement therapy." As the National Institutes of Health announced last week, treatment with estrogens and progestins is now to be called "menopausal hormone therapy."MORE

Oct 6, 2002...
Reports from the North American Menopause Society Annual Conference
"Clearly what's happening here is that maybe we have been overdosing menopausal women," he said. "You can get the benefit of menopause-related symptom relief with lower side effect rates."
Wulf Utian

Aug 16, 2002 .... Looks like everyone is taking this confusion VERY seriously. 
""Somebody needed to take a leadership role, because there is chaos in
  the medical societies," said Wulf Utian, executive director of the North
   American Menopause Society. "It's time to clear the air and address the
   issues." Read more

The debate on the HRT report..............my original comments to subscribers in the 7/15/02 Minnie Pauz Newsletter.......................

Ok, the news about HRT has everyone looking for information. Obviously, there are many different responses and reactions to the study, so I've tried to narrow the sources down to what I feel will give you an overall snapshot of who is saying what. 

I have a feeling it's going to take awhile for the dust to settle on this one, but just take a deep breath and relax! Nothing is going to happen to you in the next 10 min. if you are taking the drug used in the study! You have time to gather facts and opinions and then make an informed decision on what you want to do.

After you have read about the study from the following sites, you should write down your questions and then make an appointment with your healthcare provider to find out what their perspective is and to reassess your individual situation. It's YOUR body and YOUR decision that counts!
Dee Adams

Let's wait until some of the hype clears and we truly know what the data means. HERS was hyped by the media and some of the reporting was incorrect or was covered with biased glasses. Certainly the data was a surprise and will give us greater room to consider risk benefit options, but it shouldn't cause us to panic. GREAT response-Thanks!!!! 
Diane Todd Pace, PhD, APRN, BC
Family Nurse Practitioner/Researcher
Certified Menopause Clinician
 

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The North American 
Menopause Society

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Results of 
1st Poll

Results of
2nd Poll

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In recognition of patients’ needs and demands, many leading medical schools are incorporating into their programmes courses on alternative medicine, and hospital administrators too are recognizing this growing trend. A survey of 3,200 physicians, conducted by Health Products Research, found that more than 50% of physicians expect to start or increase use of therapeutic alternatives outside the traditional pharmaceutical realm over the next 12 months. Physicians’ perceptions are that patients show greater acceptance of alternative therapies and therefore compliance is likely to be greater. Most physicians continue to be sceptical about some alternative treatments, mainly due to a lack of definitive clinical evidence.
READ MORE

Quotes from various Doctors:
 "Women should not conclude they will get breast cancer or have a heart attack if they've taken these drugs.On the other hand, women should not start or continue to use the therapy to prevent heart disease. Diet and exercise, hypertension drugs, a low dose of aspirin and cholesterol-lowering drugs are alternatives."
Dr. Jacques Rossouw, acting director of the Women's Health Initiative

The take-home message: we should use medications for treatment of symptoms and treatment/prevention of disease when all the facts are in. The blind faith in cardiovascular prevention was called into question at least 3 to 4 years ago.

I agree completely-talk to your physician and find out what benefits and 
risks there are and what the alternatives might be. There is little room for panic as the absolute risks are very small and there are truly benefits to many women. I have always felt that the decision requires a lot of time spent in discussion and that the choices need to be made after considering benefits as well as risks.
Paul D. Burstein, M.D. FACOG
Clinical Professor
Obstetrics-Gynecology
University of Wisconsin