4 yrs post hyst, hormones or not? hormones, BRCA,and osteoporosis...?

I am a 48year old who had a tahbso about 4 yrs ago and have used a 0.1mg hormone patch with great success. Suddenly I am acutely aware of a breast cancer risk so I decided to go off the patch. My mother and my grandmother both have profound osteoporosis. So is my risk of breast cancer greater than my risk for osteoporosis? And do the benefits of the hrt outweigh the risks? It has been a rather emotional and lethargic 2 weeks off the patch. wtih lots of hot flashes and dryness.

I have been on patch for almost 6 years and I still keep losing bone anyway. I only take hrt for the hot flashes . If I had no hot flashes I would not be taking it, as there are risks of cancer, stroke and blood clots.

You can do more to help your bone by exercising , lifting weights, eating calcium rich foods and taking 1200mg calcium plus D. Your doctor can prescribe medication to strengthen bone loss if your bone density is low.

s

Thanks for your reply. It seems like there are so many things about hormones to learn. I am taking a calcium supplement as well as Vit. D. I am also lifting weights and doing some cardio. So hopefully all of this will work. Maybe if I take a low dose of the Vivelle patch the symptoms will be in check.

(((confus3d))) There is no evidence that bio-identical estradiol, as in the Vivelle-dot patch, contributes to breast cancer risk at all. In the WHI study data, the women on estrogen only HRT had, in fact, a slightly lower incidence of breast cancer than women not on HRT; the women with the slightly increased risk were the ones on Prempro, a combination HRT consisting of Premarin plus Provera, a synthetic progestin. The conclusion is that it's the Provera which increased risk slightly, not the estrogen (Premarin).

Estrogen of any kind can cause an increase in the rate of growth of existing breast cancers, but it doesn't cause them to start.

The first year after my surgery I was trying to get by on the lowest possible dose of patch. I experienced some bone loss that year. After that I raised my estrogen dose and also added testosterone and regular weight-bearing exercise; the next DEXA scan showed increased bone density.

s,
-Linda

Thanks for the info. It definitely gives me some food for thought!.