There is plenty of false information about the safety of estrogen. Estrogen has been well-documented to promote cancer in tens of thousands of scientific reports. A recent study by scientists at Harvard University provided new evidence indicating that estrogen not only promotes but also directly causes breast cancer. This new discovery further confirms the cancer risk associated with estrogen. However, there is no shortage of information claiming that a certain type of estrogen is safe.
For example, a report states that 'Using vaginal estrogen is not linked to a high breast cancer risk.' Is it true? Let us examine the duration of the study. The study took place from 1993 to 1998. While this is a relatively long clinical study for other diseases, it is too short to test safety regarding cancer. Thus, the conclusion is false because cancer may not develop within 5 or even 10 years; it often takes more than 20 years. In fact, all estrogen or estrogen derivative drugs, even the ingested forms, have safety studies backing them up. They are all tested for safety in both animals and humans. If they lacked safety data, these drugs could not be sold.
The concern is that all clinical studies are based on short-term data. What happens after taking these drugs for a longer term? To cause cancer, it will require time. You cannot develop cancer in just a few years; it may require many more years of development. Therefore, if a safety conclusion is based on short-term data, it is likely false information.
After long-term use of estrogen, many women develop breast, ovarian, and/or uterine cancers, especially estrogen receptor-sensitive breast cancer. You can confirm this by asking cancer survivors. At present, there are more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. You may find them in your family, among relatives, and in your neighborhood.
Therefore, we need to be cautious when we encounter news reports claiming that a certain type of estrogen is safe. We need to investigate to determine if it is false information. When assessing the safety of any treatment product, it is important to identify false information and make a well-informed decision.