Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and its effect on women's health are contentious issues and have been for as long as HRT has been prescribed. The use of HRT for the treatment of the symptoms of menopause is widespread and well recognized. However, the exposure to exogenous hormones in postmenopausal women and the subsequent risk of cancer in general, and breast cancer in particular, have been of interest. The reproductive life of women is marked by menarche at puberty and menopause in middle age. The definition of menopause is the cessation of menstruation as a result of ovarian failure and signifies the end of a woman's reproductive life. Ovarian failure in turn leads to decreasing circulating levels of estrogen, and the result of which is the manifestation of the acute symptoms of the menopause. These symptoms most commonly include bleeding irregularities, vasomotor, and urogenital symptoms (Critchley et al. 2005a). © 2010 Springer-Verlag London.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/978-1-84800-265-4_7

Type

Chapter

Book title

Management of Breast Cancer in Older Women

Publication Date

01/12/2010

Pages

101 - 108