HRT AND OTHER MEDICAL MISTAKES
Gloria Lemay
For decades women have been
told that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) with estrogen and
progesterone for menopausal women was safe, but on July 10 (2002)
it was announced that the benefits of HRT are significantly outweighed
by the risks which include breast cancer. See article and editorial
in the Journal of the American Medical Association:
ARTICLE: http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v288n3/ffull/joc21036.html
EDITORIAL: http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v288n3/ffull/jed20042.html
My question is this: When will women ever learn? I am 55 years
old. I am part of the generation whose mothers were told NOT
to breast feed. They were also told that Thalidomide was safe
to prevent morning sickness for pregnant women. Instead thousands
of deformed babies were born. Most of us had our tonsillectomies
by the age of five. As children, our feet were measured for shoes
in X-ray machines. Our fathers put DDT on the garden religiously
and fed us the beautiful vegetables. Luckily we did not begin
receiving vaccines until we were about 10 years old. When we
had our babies, our perineums were surgically cut (routine episiotomy)
for our "benefit". As teenagers, we were put on the
first birth control pill (high dose) and many women stayed on
it for years before the studies came out with the risks of cancer,
stroke, and heart disease.
When I was in my late 20s the cesarean epidemic began and continues
to this day "to save babies". (Doctors profess a desire
to stop the epidemic and admit the surgery is harmful but are
at a loss as to how to protect themselves in court if they are
not being aggressive with women and babies.) Many women of my
generation had tubal ligations which led to heavy periods when
an important blood vessel was severed and this often led to hysterectomy
and removal of the ovaries (female castration). All of these
malpractises of allopathic medicine have been widely reported
by the news media and many physicians regret these medical mistakes
were made. However, that doesn't change the fact that the general
health of the population and especially of women has been severely
harmed.
I have not been to a physician for 15 years. I had very heavy
periods for about 4 years from age 46-50 and I set up my life
so that I could rest more and I used herbs to relieve cramping.
I have "hot flashes" and I love them. I am not embarrassed
in the least to be a menopausal woman. I love this stage of my
life as much as I loved menstruating and bearing children. What
else am I here on earth for in a woman's body? I'm not broken
and I don't need fixing. Hot flashes, vaginal dryness and mood
swings---so what? Maybe women in their 50's and 60's are SUPPOSED
to be cranky, passionate and outrageous. Maybe if they were feeling
those mood swings a little more they'd march on those big pharmaceutical
firms that have made millions off their misery.
Wake up, women, allopathic medicine is making you sick. There
is no one in government departments who is really your protector
and advocate. Open your eyes and start standing up for your own
health and the health of your community.
Editor's footnote: Barely
two days after it was announced that the risks outweigh the benefits
of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for menopausal women, pharmaceutical
interests pumped out news stories claiming that HRT for men is
safe, because as one report put it "the hormonal profile
is very different in men and women." Men are given HRT in
the form of testosterone to combat depression, diminished sex
drive, low energy levels and a drop in mental capacity. The fact
is that tinkering with hormone levels in both women and men is
always a risky business, but the pharmaceutical industry often
practises reality denial to protect its lucrative business.
