A report published recently in Lancet Oncology is a welcome new information for women who are being denied hormone replacement therapy based on poorly designed and/or misinterpreted prior studies.  These studies seemed to suggest a link between estrogen replacement and breast cancer, a link that was questionable but nevertheless became greatly sensationalized by the media. The article in Lancet clearly demonstrates no such link.  Other recent data suggests that it is not estrogen, but a synthetic progestogen given together with the estrogen that may slightly increase the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. 

So much can be, and is, said about the best means to conceive a child in the shortest duration possible.

There is little doubt that when looking at ‘The Women most likely to…”, age plays a significant factor.

While earlier studies seem to point to women maintaining optimal fertility through the age of 35, 40 and beyond; recent evidence has demonstrated that a woman’s fertility peaks at @ 28 years of age and then begins a steady decline, with significant acceleration after the age of 35.

Hormones and hormonal therapy for women are frequently discussed by the media yet there is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding on the subject among the general public. Based on my knowledge of female physiology, steroid hormone biochemisty, and more than 40 years experience in the management of hormone deficient states, I am hoping to shed additional light on this important issue for patients and physicians.