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HORMONES & CANCER

HOW ARE YOUR HORMONES LATELY?

By C.W. Randolph, Jr., M.D.

Weight gain, decreased sex drives and depression, oh my! No, it’s not lions, tigers and bears, but for some, these things are just as scary and even more life threatening.

For millions of women over the age of 40, these same symptoms can be the result of declining hormone levels. Left undiagnosed and untreated, shifts in hormone production can increase a person’s risk of breast and uterine cancers.

How are your hormones, or lack thereof, linked to your risk of developing cancer? The answer begins with the biochemical action of your cells.

THE FACTS

Women have three sex hormones circulating within their bodies: Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. When these hormones are at their optimum levels and in balance, overall health and wellbeing is established at a cellular level. When hormone production begins to decline due to age, that cellular reality can shift. In women, progesterone levels begin to decline in their early to mid ‘30s. When progesterone levels dip while estrogen levels remain stable or increase, your body becomes relatively “estrogen dominant.” If left undiagnosed and untreated, it can be a dangerous condition. Very simply put, one of estrogen’s functions is to foster cell growth while progesterone blocks or neutralizes this tendency. When your body’s ratio of estrogen to progesterone is out-of-balance you become “estrogen dominant” and unchecked estrogen-stimulated cell growth has been linked to an increased risk of cancer.

THE SOLUTION

You are putting your health at risk when hormone imbalances are ignored. And more cause for concern is when synthetic hormones or antidepressants are prescribed. It is critical to know that there is a medically-proven alternative. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is a natural, safe and effective alternative therapy to commonly-prescribed synthetic hormones (such as the popularly prescribed Premarin and Prempro).

BHRT literally means to restore hormone imbalances with hormones identical to those in the body. These hormones are completely derived from natural sources and have a molecular structure exactly like the hormones produced within your body. Once an individual’s hormone levels are analyzed, an individualized prescription of BHRT can be compounded in a lab just for you. This means that you get the specific dosing of bioidentical hormones that you need to replace the hormones that your body is missing. Replenishing hormone deficits and restoring balance at a cellular level not only helps you feel better, medical studies show that appropriate use of bioidentical hormones has many health benefits including protecting the health of breast, uterine and prostate tissues.

A brief history about synthetic HRT and its link to a woman’s risk of cancer:

•In 1942, America’s first synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drug, called Premarin was launched;

•Premarin was marketed as a woman’s only choice for menopausal salvation and a veritable fountain of youth for 60 years;

•In 2002, the National Institute of Health (NIH) Women’s Health Initiative Study (WHI) was abruptly halted because it was found that women in the study on synthetic hormones, specifically synthetic estrogen plus a synthetic progestin, experienced a significantly increased risk of breast cancer, as well as heart attack, stroke, blood clots and Alzheimer’s disease.

Throughout my medical education, I, like so many others, was trained to believe that synthetic HRT provided a number of health benefits for women suffering from hormone imbalances. When I first started private practice, I continued to prescribe these same synthetic hormones, but also began to question their safety and results. Why? Because of the high incidence of side effects I witnessed in my patients. Most disturbing was the increased incidence of fibrocystic breast disease. . Long before the output of WHI, I began to clinically address safety of synthetic hormones and sought an alternative.

In that same time frame, my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her husband, a pharmacist, suspected that her cancer might be linked to her use of Premarin. From that point and based on solid medical research, I began compounding and prescribing bioidentical hormones for my patients suffering from hormone imbalances. Now, after more than a decade of treating more than ten thousand patients with bioidentical hormones, I know of only two female patients who have developed breast cancer. BHRT. My clinical experience coupled with the overwhelming body of medical research that exists today provides the basis for my expert medical opinion and why I feel so strongly about the use of BHRT.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

•Get the facts: Find out for yourself what medical studies indicate regarding your choices for hormone replacement. Visit http://www.hormonewell.com or http://www.womeninbalance.org ;

•Learn about hormone-healthy lifestyle choices through books like: From Hormone Hell to Hormone Well and From Bell Fat to Belly Flat;

•Find a doctor who will listen to you concerns and partner with you in choosing hormone-healthy treatment and prevention options.

Take responsibility for your own health. If you’ve got a body, you’ve got a brain. Use it.

Editor’s Note: C.W. Randolph, Jr., M.D. is the author of Hormone Hell to Hormone Well. For purchase info, visit http://www.amazon.com .

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