Breast Cancer Rates Drop Along With Hormone Use

Repeated reports have now confirmed a substantial and sustained decrease in breast cancer rates as women’s hormone use declined following the publicity about the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) results. The breast cancer rate went down significantly in 2003, and it remained lower in 2004. Powerful evidence published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine expressly linked the decrease to the sharp drop in hormone use by menopausal women.

The NWHN was a strong voice in the early 1990s for starting the WHI and has advocated for decades that women must be informed about the increased risks associated with hormone use, especially the risk for breast cancer. We have always held the position that a woman doesn’t need to take hormones simply because she is going through menopause. And we believed that if women got factual, reliable information about the risks and benefits of hormone therapy, they would be able to make informed decisions for themselves and their health. This study shows that armed with the WHI results, women have done just that.