Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Hormone Therapy May Do More Harm than Good
Aired July 24, 2002 - 10:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to page Dr. Gupta. And for today's segment, we are going to be turn -- for a closer look to a controversial procedure. It is used by millions of post menopausal women, hormone replacement therapy, or HRT. The therapy eases the effects of menopause, but recent studies have questioned whether the relief is worth the risk. We are paging Dr. Gupta to look at the controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, was touted as a panacea, a cure-all, an almost mystical drug that would not only stop hot flashes, but lower the risk of osteoporosis, depression, and heart disease. But just last week, an alarming announcement for women taking both estrogen and progestin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The findings are the first confirmation in a rigorous clinical trial that taking estrogen plus progestin does indeed increase the risk of breast cancer. The findings also show a 22 percent increase in total cardiovascular disease with a 29 percent increase in heart attacks, 41 percent increase in stroke, and a doubling of the rate of blood clots in the lungs and the legs.
GUPTA: And behind all those scary numbers are real individuals. Individuals such as Geraldine Fallon. We first met her in 1993 when she first started taking the combination therapy. Three years later, she had an abnormal pap smear.
GERALDINE FALLON, FORMER HRT USER: They removed part of my cervix, and then six months, five months later, it recurred and they had to remove practically all my cervix. Well, they immediately took me off of the hormone.
GUPTA: And just two years after that, her worst fears were realized. She developed breast cancer.
FALLON: There was always that underlying, does hormone replacement cause breast cancer, and there are some people who very definitely think there is a connection. And I, now -- of course, now I do feel that there is a correlation or a connection, because I'm a walking example.
GUPTA: While it is unclear that HRT directly lead to her cancer, her story illustrates the fear brought on by this news, and now, millions of women are justifiably confused, asking what does this mean to me, does it cause cancer, will it prevent heart disease?
DR. ROBERT RATNER, WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER: Our response to women today is, for the short term, there may be very good indications for hormone replacement. For the long-term, don't look at hormones as a way of preventing heart disease.
GUPTA: Experts advise women to talk it over with their doctor.
FALLON: I just feel that if I had known the risks, I certainly wouldn't have taken it. I wouldn't have taken the hormones, really.
GUPTA: If you decide to go off HRT, there are other options. Drugs like reloxafine to treat osteoporosis, a variety of medicines and lifestyle changes to treat heart disease, newer, more effective anti-depressants, and attitude, or as Geraldine Fallon puts it...
FALLON: I have adjusted, and I have made all kinds of amendments, and I have a very rich life. I play the piano, I read a lot, and I walk, and I play a lot of bridge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And scientists certainly agree now that there is a very limited role, certainly, for HRT. All of the great effects of lowering heart disease, lowering osteoporosis, all those things don't seem to coming true, maybe even causing things like cancer, Daryn.
KAGAN: But we are talking about 7 million women out there who are on this kind of treatment. Is the word for those 7 million women just to stop?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it is interesting. I talked to a lot of researchers about that very issue, and one of the researches said the mantra now is, Don't start and do stop. So, she was very adamant about the fact that -- should not be taking hormone replacement therapy. But the flip side, of course, is that it does have some significant role. Certainly, the treatment of hot flashes, depression, difficulty sleeping at night, all those sorts of things, and the best advice that I have heard really is, if you are a high risk for cancer, you need to be talking to your doctor before starting it, and stopping it for sure when you don't need it anymore.
KAGAN: And one thing it has done, it has created a lot of questions.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
KAGAN: And so, we are going to answer some of those questions. We know that you have questions about hormone replacement therapy. Now is your chance to have some of them answered. Go to cnn.com. Scroll down to Sanjay's face, and scroll on the extra info box, send us your questions.
Coming up, we are going to have Dr. Gupta here. Also, an ob-gyn, a doctor who specializes in menopause, and she will be along to help us answer those questions. We will see you in the next hour. LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: What does it feel like to have people click on your face, doc?
GUPTA: I am not sure what else they are doing to my face.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
