Human Hormones

There is more evidence about the possibly negative link between hormone treatment in women and lung cancer. Recent studies have shown that combing hormone treatment with smoking can bring about the possibility of increased chances of developing lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cancerous cells in the lungs. As the growth of these becomes even more uncontrolled, they form into lumps which become tumours. Tumours drastically inhibit the normal functioning of lungs.

Lung cancer is rare in people who are under 45 years of age. However, it is the leading cancer related cause of death in many parts of the world. The average chances for a man to develop lung cancer are about 1 in 13. In women it is 1 in 16. However, as most of us know, it is highly increased if the person is a smoker.

So what about hormone treatments? Well, the general consensus is that the chance of contracting lung cancer are greatly increased if you are a smoker, female and undergoing a combination of hormone treatments. This is becoming increasingly common as a conclusion in recent times, with at least one major initiative (WHI) bringing it to the attention of the media in the last couple of years.

Women take hormone replacement therapies to assist with the alleviation of menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. Hot flashes can occur in women who are experiencing the menopause, and they are characterised by a hot sensation in the face, accompanied by sweating. The experience is highly uncomfortable, and women understandably seek hormone replacement therapy to reduce the discomfort.

The WHI (Women’s Health Initiative) recently carried out a study that showed that those women with non-small cell lung cancer have more of a chance of dying from the disease if they take combined estrogen and progestin. This risk was noticeably pronounced for those women in the groups who were smokers. In fact there was one avoidable death of every 100 women who both smoked and took the combined hormones.

While the combined treatments on their own did not increase the chances of developing lung cancer, it was clear that the treatments alongside the smoking habit increased the chances of dying from the disease.

This is not the first time that the combined treatments have been linked to serious illness. In fact the past throws up a number of incidents whereby researchers and scientists have linked the combination of Estrogen and Progestin to serious, life-threatening conditions, including heart disease.

Heart disease is a summary term that covers all conditions that can adversely affect the workings of the heart. These include heart failure, coronary heart disease and congenital heart disease. Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death for both men and women in the US. Millions of dollars are spent every year researching ways to combat the problem, as well as care of the people who are suffering.

The combined hormone therapies have been linked to an increased chance of developing heart disease in the past. This means that long-term use of the combined hormones can lead to increased risk of developing the conditions.

Long-term use (over 5 years) has also been linked to the development of breast cancer. And here is the key, in that long-term use seems to be the problem.

With all kinds of hormone treatment therapy, your physician should advise on how long you should take it for, and to what extent it becomes part of your life.

Bear in mind that the lung cancer issue is significantly worsened if women take the combined treatment and smoke. Smoking is bad for your health, so having this as a habit can do no more than exacerbate the negative conditions.

So it is absolutely true that any smokers who are considering taking hormone therapy of symptoms such as hot flashes should quit the habit. This reduces the lung cancer risk significantly.

Ask your doctor for any other therapies that you can take apart from the combined hormone therapies, and make sure that if you have to take Estrogen and Progestin, that you take them at the lowest effective doe.