Stopping HRT drops cancer risk fast I've always been down on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Why? Well, pick a reason. Every time I turn around, there's more and more bad news about it. In recent months, I've told you about studies that have pointed to HRT's seemingly endless list of nasty side effects like brain shrinkage, dementia, and even gallbladder disease. But my biggest issue with HRT has always been the role it plays in causing cancer. And now a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine seems to indicate that taking women off of HRT cuts their cancer risk - and fast. For years, drug companies have pushed synthetic HRT on women as a panacea for hot flashes and the other ills of postmenopausal life. But I've always been disconcerted with the fact that women risk cancer, stroke, and blood clots just to overcome periodic discomfort. The new study was conducted by UCLA oncologist Dr. Roman Chelbowski, and it found that the rate of breast cancer in postmenopausal took a nosedive in the first two years after they stopped using HRT, and then continued to drop each year afterwards. On the other hand, the women in the study who also took hormone supplements of estrogen and progestin were TWICE as likely to develop cancer over five years, compared to women who weren't on any form of HRT. Chelbowski says cutting off excess estrogen could have acted as a kind of treatment for small, preclinical cancers in the women - cancer too small to be detected or treated with traditional methods. Dr. Jonathan Berek, an OB-GYN from the Stanford University School of Medicine, said, "This study isn't an indictment of hormone use at menopause. It just means that like all medicines, hormones have their benefits and risks, so they have to be used very judiciously and for a short time." Don't believe it for a minute. The list of health negatives associated with HRT is as long as a gorilla's arm. As for me, I'm inclined to back Chelbowski's study - or any study - that advocates the end of HRT as a viable treatment for menopause. I've heard it all now: a new study is actually saying that the use of a chemotherapy drug can help - ready for this - improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin. I can only hope that this sort of thing doesn't catch on. Apparently, the research was looked into when it was noticed that the chemo drug flourouacil (used to "treat" head, neck, colon, and pancreatic cancers) caused changes in skin appearance. The study examined 21 healthy volunteers with skin damaged by sun exposure and actinic keratoses (precancerous skin lesions), and treated them with a cream made from the chemo drug. There was some success. You know how I feel about chemotherapy - it is the perfect example of the cure that is literally worse than the disease. It is a barbaric practice that has put cancer patients in the horrific position of wondering whether their disease or their treatment will kill them first. The fact that anyone could even THINK of using this stuff for cosmetic purposes boggles my mind. | 
