The hormone therapy – breast cancer risk study we didn't know we needed

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A new international study published in The Lancet Oncology offers much-needed clarity on breast cancer risk for women navigating hormone therapy – especially those under 55.

Until now, most research has focused on older women, leaving a gap in our understanding of how hormone therapy (HT) affects younger women, including those in perimenopause or early menopause. There’s no room for fear here – just greater understanding.

This was a pooled cohort analysis, meaning researchers combined data from multiple cohorts and studies and analyzed them as one large group: 459,476 women aged 16 to 54, with a mean age of 42. They examined the link between the 15 percent who were taking hormone therapy and young-onset breast cancer.

Two important notes before proceeding:

• Progestin is a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone. Progesterone (the bioidentical version most similar to what our body makes) or progestin is required for women with a uterus who t…