Confused! More HRT recommended with endo cancer??

Hiya

I have just had my hormone levels checked as my hair is shedding. My estregen is at 95 and my FSH 109.0 and LH 101.0.
Not sure what these levels mean and my dr didnt seem to test for testosterone. Anyway i have had a letter from my gyne saying that i need to up my HRT patch to 50mcg. This is all very well and good but i keep reading that people who have had endometrial cancer should not be on HRT at all. I was put on a very lose dose to start with. Basically the lowest dose patch changing it every 5 days. Now she wants me to up to two a week at a higher dosage. It really makes no sense to me at all.
Common sense tells me not to do it but then my gyne says it will also help my sex drive which is nonexistent. So do i say 'goodbye' to the old me and become a sexless object with hair! or do i take what she recommends and hope my cancer doesnt come back. Im fed up with it. I spose im like a car trying to run without its oil! Thanks for letting me ramble on and on!
Any advice? Thank you

I agree with you that your dr's instructions seem strange under the circumstances. I was under the same assumption and that's the reason I'm not taking any HRT. I'd ask her for an explanation before taking the HRT. Maybe she's aware of other, recent test results.

The issue of HRT after endometrial cancer is a controversial one. I think you can find almost as many opinions as you can find physicians. After I completed my treatment for endometrial cancer, my gynecologic oncologist told me he did not want me taking any HRT whatsoever. I show him a news report on a clinical trial where one group of women were on HRT. He said you can find a study saying just about anything if you look hard enough. When I went to the medical school library and read the actual study underlying the news item I had read, I was more happy than ever with my gyn-onc's no-HRT recommendation, as I thought the sutdy was very poorly designed and controlled.

MoeKay

That "sutdy" I speak of above should obviously be "study." I don't want my post to be considered as poorly controlled as the clinical trial about which my post speaks!

MoeKay

Hi Sheila the subject of estrogen and cancer is indeed very controversial. If I were in your place, I would ask my DR about trying Tibolone (aka Livial). It's commonly prescribed now in the UK and has been very well received. It's not a hormone therapy, but it behaves like hormones in some tissues of the body. Fortunately, the endometrium is not one of those tissues; i.e., it does not cause endometrial proliferation. It doesn't aggravate breast cancers, either, and in fact is currently being investigated as a possible treatment for breast cancer!

It exerts some estrogenic and also androgenic effect on some tissues, which means it can help with hot flashes and other symptoms of low estrogen, plus can help with libido too. Here are some links to a couple of threads with more information:

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...hreadid=103027

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...threadid=89828

I hope this helps!
s,
-Linda

Saw my onc. earlier this week and she said definately no HRT for me. I stopped taking HRT last Nov. and still have those
hot flashes! I am taking oil of evening primrose only, having read too many conficting studies on soya, black cohosh etc.
I was 55 at the time of surgery and post-menopausal [presumably] so I thought flashes would go quickly... no such luck!

Must say my hair is better than it has been in years!

I feel better now than I did on HRT... I was worried about being hormone-less... but I think I like it.

Best Wishes Maggie.