Ovulation and menstruation become irregular and finally cease. This cessation is called menopause. As a result it now stimulates the pituitary to increased activity. The concentrations of FSH and LH in the blood rise to ten or more times their former values. These elevated levels may cause a variety of unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms.
Many menopausal women elect to take estrogens and progesterone after they cease to make their own.
The progestin is taken to reduce the risk of cancer of the endometrium. There is some evidence that the estrogen component increases the risk of breast cancer as well as of endometrial cancer. This has created anxiety that they may be responsible for harmful effects such as cancer and low sperm counts. However, there is as yet little evidence to support these worries. No epidemiological relationship has been found between the incidence of breast cancer and the levels of these compounds in the body.