Thank you everyone for your insightful comments! I’m glad my article was able to generate some thoughts and discussion. I would like to respond directly to some of Tamara’s comments to clarify.

I wrote this article because I wanted to present the issues surrounding hormone replacement therapy to women in a way that was both accurate and accessible. I think one of the biggest challenges in science is clearly communicating scientific findings to the people who will benefit from these findings. Too often, scientists rely on scientific jargon to talk about results of studies. Although this may be more technically accurate, it can also alienate people who find this language intimidating. For the majority of discussions I think it is totally unnecessary to get into technical scientific details.

Specifically, in terms of whether the chemicals used in clinical trials are identical to the estrogen and progesterone our own bodies make, it is true that not all artificially created hormones are exactly alike. But, they are used because they act very similar to each other biologically. We don’t really know for sure if different estrogen or progesterone-like molecules are “safer” or more effective than others. As with anything in science, we can only make predictions based on the best evidence we have. So, for the sake of this discussion I am saying “estrogen” and “progesterone” to keep things simple.

In terms of the results of the WHI study nothing is misrepresented. I never said that estrogen alone increased breast cancer incidence in that study. Women are typically prescribed estrogen and progesterone since taking estrogen alone can cause uterine cancer. So, in terms of hormone replacement therapy, the estrogen + progesterone group is the most representative and is why this study is so often referred to.

Finally, what I wanted to convey with this article is that this is not a simple issue and there is no straightforward answer. This is in no way meant to be a definitive statement on what a woman should do. There is little question (based on the research we have today) that hormone replacement therapy, as with most things, comes with a risk. But I also tried to make it clear that there are significant benefits of taking HRT (protects bones, increases well-being) that are unmatched (based on the research we have today) by anything else. For some women these benefits will outweigh the risks, for others (women with mild symptoms for example) they may not. What I stated I would do personally is based on the fact that I, like Mhanh, am not experiencing menopausal symptoms yet. I may be singing a totally different tune when I am sweating through my sheets and feeling depressed. This decision is deeply personal and should be subject to change with each new piece of data. I would hope that any woman trying to make this decision would do their best to stay as informed as possible, knowing that there is no one “right” choice to make!