And for those women in their 40 s, the oral contraceptives relieved the first hot flashes and prevented the formation of peri-menopausal ovarian cysts. But when they enter menopause, something changes. It is not that they forgot the benefits of oral contraceptives and estrogen, rather, they become obsessed with the fear of breast cancer. And the fear of cancer is the primary inhibition women have to taking supplementary estrogen. In the last 35 years, more than 40 epidemiological studies have been performed to gather information about the risks of taking estrogen and developing breast cancer.
Most studies show either no increased risk or slight increase with prolonged estrogen use.
And to the physician, this information is both comforting and reassuring that prescribing estrogen is in the best interest of our female patients. But relating our security with estrogen replacement to our patients is not enough. For women know that some breast cancers are estrogen sensitive. They interpret this to mean that estrogen can make the cancer grow. So that is why they previously took the oral contraceptive pill.