It has been very widely talked about that estrogen, a natural hormone all woman produce before menopause, causes breast cancer.  If that were true, would you not think that it would be a disease of young women who have high levels of this hormone?   I do.

The most widely talked about study is the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) which linked the medication Prempro to breast cancer.  To understand this fully, let us look at what Prempro is.  Prempro is a combination of synthetic hormones Premarin (taken from pregnant horses…yuck) and Provera which is a synthetic progesterone.  The research in  the WHI showed that the highest incidence of breast cancer was linked when the women took synthetic Progesterone in the pill Provera…not with Premarin alone!

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), breast cancer currently ranks 6th on the list of the top 10 leading causes of death in women in the United States (US).  There has been no scientific link or studies that have proven that bio-identical estrogen or synthetic estrogen alone causes breast cancer.  The risk for breast cancer increases with age when women have no ability to produce estrogen on their own.  This again doesn’t support the thought that estrogen causes breast cancer.

Let us look outside the US.  If you looked at breast cancer incidence rates by country per 100,000 females, the statistics vary greatly.  China is one of the lowest at 8.8, Iceland is the highest at 39.4 and the US is in the middle at a rate of 21.1.  But wait!:  We all have the same hormones, the same equipment so why do we all not have the same risk factors?  Good question.  There are several factors that increase a woman’s ability to develop breast cancer.  Some include age, family history (first degree relative with a history of the disease), and lifestyle choices.  Having one alcoholic drink increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer six fold.  Not estrogen!

When reading studies, news reports, magazine articles and on the web, there is usually more than meets the eye and big pharmaceuticals with big money can generally twist and swing the argument the way that would benefit them.  Before believing it just because you heard it or saw it do some research and read the reports yourself.   You have the right to the full truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.