Again, there are no hard statistics, but it's estimated that if 100 women went on HRT for a least a decade and the benefits are as great as proponents say, only 23 would get heart disease. The average age a woman is killed by a heart attack or stroke is 74, so to benefit from HRT, she'd have to be taking it for about 25 years. Risks Breast cancer. Right now, out of 100 Canadian women, about 11 can expect to get breast cancer. There haven't been any large studies on the long-term use of HRT, but studies which have been done indicate that risk might increase with length of use.
Breast cancer tends to strike women earlier than osteoporosis or heart disease.
There's one thing you should know about HRT, especially if you're taking it to feel better. If you're on hormone therapy, you'll get your monthly periods back - they usually last for two or three years, but can stick around for a lot longer. For Women in the Prime of Life. The address is Box 515, Place du Parc Station, Montreal H2W 2P1. A Statement by the Australasian Menopause Society on Hormone Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer - a look at some new studies.