Hormone therapy is often regularly confused with hormone replacement therapy when, in fact they are very different medical procedures. Essentially hormone therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. It is most often used in post menopausal treatment to help balance the changing levels of hormones within the woman’s body.


When a woman chooses to undergo standard hormone therapy during the natural cycle of menopause, a man made version of progesterone is introduced into their system. This would help to ease a number of the complications that a woman will experience during menopause including itching, dryness, a burning sensation and discomfort during intercourse. Most of the estrogen present in a woman’s body is made by the ovaries and the substance also aids the hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers, grow.


As a result, a reduction in the amount of estrogen will help reduce the risk of early stage hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers from being able to reoccur after a surgery. On the flip side, estrogen being used on a short term basis to relieve the menopausal symptoms will help a women gain a certain degree of protection from conditions like osteoporosis, colorectal cancer and heart disease. As with any medical practice that involves the introduction of unnatural substances into the body, there are a few risks that the patient has to bear. A large study including over 10,000 women that were undertaking hormone therapy showed an increase in the likelihood of development of breast cancer, blood clots and irregular mammograms with a higher chance of a false positive. Because of the fact that the short term benefits of the substance significantly outweigh its risks and complications, hormone therapy is still a very commonly used medical practice. This is especially true if the patient experiences moderate to severe hot flashes, inability to tolerate any other forms of treatment and has lost considerable bone mass as well as an apparent stop of periods before the age of about 40. The last occurrence could also indicate the abnormal functioning of the ovaries which may require some closer inspection by your doctor.

Hormone therapy, will usually only be considered when a person is having a considerably hard time dealing with her menopausal symptoms. However, certain natural activities will go a long way into controlling them to a certain extent. Your doctor may suggest that you adopt a healthier diet as well as engage in substantial exercise to help you through this phase as well.