IN THE last few years, several reports about the increased risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease linked to HRT have caused concern.
Many women have come forward and asked to be taken off HRT because of fears about the risks they might face.
In my practice in Edinburgh, the number of women taking HRT has at least halved in the last five to six years.
As doctors, we will alwa
ys listen to patients' concerns about treatment.
HRT would not be my first choice of treatment if a patient came forward suffering from symptoms of the menopause.
We would first discuss alternative drugs which could help deal with the symptoms.
Doctors are now also able to point patients in the direction of herbal remedies which may help to combat menopausal symptoms, such as red clover or black cohosh.
But where it is decided that HRT may be the best option, we always discuss with patients the small risks of breast cancer and heart disease which have been linked to the treatment.
Six months to a year after starting HRT, I might discuss with a patient whether it has helped them deal with their symptoms and may even suggest a trial period with them stopping HRT to see if they can cope without it.
But there will always be a group of women for whom HRT is the best way of dealing with their symptoms.
Many women who have been on HRT say they know the risks, but it has turned their life around and they are willing to continue treatment.
But there are several different options for dealing with menopausal symptoms, of which HRT is just one.
• Dr John Garner is a GP at the St Triduana's practice in Edinburgh.
The full article contains 297 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
