Davina’s positive that HRT is the way to a healthier, less worrisome menopause
Co-authors bust the big myths about life-altering treatment
When Davina McCall’s first documentary tackling the stigma of menopause aired in 2021 it did much more than spark a national conversation – it spawned a movement.
McCall, now 54, spoke out about how women have been conditioned by our patriarchal society to just“soldier on”and deal with discomfort and pain instead of seeking relief from it. She highlighted that this has hindered many women from taking HRT (hormone replacement therapy) treatment despite suffering symptoms that affect the quality of their
everyday life.
The response was beyond anything she expected, with one company reporting a 30% rise in demand for HRT products the month after the Channel 4 show was aired.
Her second documentary, Davina McCall: Sex, Mind And The Menopause, was broadcast earlier this year during a national shortage of HRT which led to the issue being raised in the UK Parliament and the appointment of an “HRT tsar” with the role modelled on that of Kate Bingham, who successfully led the government’s Covid vaccine taskforce.
Suddenly the menopause was being taken very seriously indeed.Yet still, according to Dr Naomi Potter, the co-author of Davina’s new self-help book Menopausing, HRT is still a lottery with only 10% of women who would benefit from HRT in the UK actually taking it.This, she says, is down to a lack of training for medical professionals and misinformation.
She and McCall are on a mission to dispel some of the myths surrounding HRT and empower women to make the choice that is right for them.
So if you are still concerned about HRT and its bad press, here, in an extract from their book, Potter answers all those burning questions and dispels the most common myths.
What are the risks?
The latest study confirms what we already thought was the case, that oestrogen-only HRT does not increase the risk of breast cancer.
Oestrogen plus micronised (body-identical) progesterone is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Oestrogen with synthetic progesterone is associated with a small increased risk of breast cancer. Twenty-three out of 1,000 women aged between 50 and 59 will develop breast cancer over the next five years.
In comparison, 27 out of 1,000 women aged 50 to 59 will develop breast cancer if they use combined HRT with a synthetic progesterone. By comparison, 28 women out of 1,000 in the same age group will develop breast cancer if they drink two or more units ofalcoholaday.
And the most telling statistic, 47 women out of 1,000 aged 50 to 59 will develop breast cancer if they are overweight or obese.
If you exercise for two and a half hours a week you can reduce your risk of breast cancer by the same degree as combined HRT with synthetic progesterone increases it.
Any other risks?
There is a slightly increased risk of developing a blood clot if you take oral oestrogen. There is no increased risk of blood clots from using oestrogen through the skin.
The leaflets inside the packets of HRT are inaccurate as they advise that transdermal HRT increases this risk, but that is not the case.
Studies show that transdermal HRT (through the skin) does not significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and strokes, if you start taking it before 60 years of age