May 4th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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A new report on lung cancer in women has been published by the Women’s Health Policy and Advocacy Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Called “Out of the Shadows,” the report seeks to raise awareness about lung cancer, currently the leading cause of cancer death in women, and more importantly, to increase funding for research for its prevention, detection and treatment. (Thanks to Booster Shots, the LA Times‘ fabulous health blog, for highlighting the report.) I encourage you to read the report, which is well written and comprehensive. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*
April 22nd, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, Research
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It’s only Wednesday, and so far three patients have come to their office visits carrying Cynthia Gorney’s article from Sunday’s New York Times entitled “The Estrogen Dilemma.”
The article explores the stories of three women who found relief from perimenopausal symptoms by using hormone replacement, framing the discussion in the larger context of what is being called the “window hypothesis” — the idea that starting estrogen replacement in the perimenopause and continuing it into later life may be neuroprotective and even cardioprotective, in contrast to beginning its use 10 or more years after menopause, where it can trigger heart disease, stroke and dementia. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*
December 21st, 2009 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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Just when you thought it was safe…now there is another article in the NewYorkTimes about the pharmaceutical industry pushing hormones for post menopausal women. It is a long and somewhat “shocking” article about how women have been sold a bill of goods regarding estrogen and progesterone after menopause and Wyeth Pharmaceutical paying multimillion dollar claims for women who took hormones and developed breast cancer.
Let me say…don’t believe everything you read. As readers of EverythingHealth know, I am not a shill for big Pharma and have written critiques of their corporate tactics many times. But when it comes to Estrogen replacement it isn’t just doctors and Pharma pushing drugs on unsuspecting women.
The link between breast cancer and endometrial cancer and estrogen (ERT) has been open dialog for decades. The pharmaceutical companies have had it listed in their marketing literature and good physicians make it part of the risk/benefit discussion. I have never felt pushed to prescribe ERT when it was not indicated and good evidence remains about the benefits of female hormones for bone strength and symptom control. Patients should know that for every 10,000 women who take estrogen, 8 more cases of breast cancer are seen. Other factors influence breast cancer like smoking, radiation (excessive chest X-rays, cat scans or mammograms), alcohol etc etc etc. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
