Breast Cancer Risk and Hormone Therapy

Breast cancer risk is the question many people most want answered before they start hormone therapy. You do not need risk figures to judge that conversation. You need to know how a provider should handle the topic, so you are not left with a vague reassurance or a vague warning.

What a provider should do before prescribing

A responsible conversation about risk is specific to you. It starts with your history, not with a general statement.

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What should be reviewed

Your personal history of breast conditions.
Your family history of breast and related cancers.
Your screening history and when your last screening was.
Your current medicines and other health conditions.

What should be written down

The date of your last screening and when the next one is due.
Which factors your provider considered.
What the plan is if anything changes.

How to ask about numbers

If a provider gives you a number, ask where it comes from. Risk figures depend on who was studied, which regimen was used and how long they were followed. Ask the provider to point you to the source so you can read it yourself.

Questions that keep the conversation precise

Which numbers are you using, and from which source?
Do those numbers apply to someone with my history?
Does the type or form of therapy change the picture?
How will my screening schedule be handled while I am on therapy?

Where to read for yourself

A consumer page, Menopause: Medicines to Help You, is worth reading before your appointment. Use it to prepare your questions.

Red flags in how the topic is handled

You are told there is nothing to worry about, with no review of your history.
You are told to avoid therapy altogether, with no review of your history.
No screening plan is discussed.
Your questions are answered with general statements and no sources.
No follow-up visit is booked.

Leaving the risk visit with a written plan

Patient information from a medical society is also kept in this menopause library. Go to your visit with your family history written down, your screening dates in hand and a short list of questions. Leave with a written plan and a review date. If the visit cannot give you that, ask again or seek another opinion. Our checklist judges how the risk conversation is run, and it leaves the risk decision itself to you and your clinician.