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The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

138 - Explaining what the evidence shows to offer choice to women after breast cancer, with Avrum Bluming

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

Dr Louise Newson

Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Medicine

4.8798 Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2022

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Medical oncologist, Dr Avrum Bluming makes a welcome return to the podcast this week to re-visit the hot topic of menopause hormone therapy after breast cancer. Avrum has spent decades studying the research on the benefits and risks of HRT in women with a history of breast cancer and is passionate about giving women clear, evidence-based information that dispels myths and combats the misinformation that has unnecessarily frightened women and clinicians for over 20 years. In discussion with Dr Louise Newson, Avrum clearly explains what his recent review of the literature reveals about the safety of HRT and the benefits it brings for your future health. The experts highlight the gender disparities that are commonplace in how women with cancer are treated with regard to their hormones compared to men, and they also discuss the importance of patient-centred medicine and giving women choice. Avrum’s 3 tips for women interested in exploring their menopause treatment options after breast cancer: Speak to your oncologist. Tell them about your menopause symptoms, ask to discuss the possibility of starting HRT and have a conversation about the benefits and risk for you individually. When it is available, take Avrum’s article that will be published in the ‘Cancer’ journal in May/June 2022, and show it to your oncologist and GP. Don’t accept a dismissal of your views – engage them in discussion. ‘Oestrogen Matters’ (2018, published by Little Brown) is a book co-authored by Avrum that is for women and clinicians, including a chapter on HRT after breast cancer, and it is heavily referenced to show all the evidence behind the information given. Links to Avrum Bluming’s upcoming journal article will be published on the balance-menopause.com website when it is released.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello, I'm Dr. Louise Newsome and welcome to my podcast. I'm a GP and menopause specialist and I run the

0:16.3

Newson Health Menopause and Wellbeing Centre here in Stratford-Bron-Avon. I'm also the founder of the Menopause charity and the Menopause support app called Balance.

0:29.9

On the podcast, I will be joined each week by an exciting guest to help provide evidence-based

0:36.5

information and advice about both the perimenopause and the

0:40.9

menopause.

0:45.5

Today I'm very excited, delighted and thrilled to introduce back to the studio today, Avram Blooming,

0:52.2

who hopefully a lot of you have heard a previous podcast we did

0:55.3

together. Avram is an emeritus clinical professor of medicine at the University of Southern California,

1:01.8

and he's also master of the American colleges of physicians, which he's going to say what that

1:08.6

means, because that's quite a mouthful, but it's a real

1:12.0

honour that he was awarded. So I'm very honored to have you here today, Avram. It's incredible.

1:17.9

I am honored as well.

1:20.0

So, and today on the podcast, we're really going to concentrate talking about breast cancer

1:25.7

and women's choices following breast cancer.

1:29.2

Okay, I think first it's important to recognize that as human beings, we are risk-averse.

1:35.6

If we're given the option of a good gain with an associated risk,

1:41.0

we will almost always decide in favor of avoiding the risk, even if it means

1:46.8

not getting the game. And in the world we currently live in, most of the benefits of HRT have now

1:56.9

been endorsed not just by people like you and me and other medical practitioners,

2:03.3

but by the Women's Health Initiative, which is responsible for the dramatic decline in

2:08.3

HRT that we've seen over the last 20 years. And the benefits include reduced risk of

2:14.8

cardiovascular disease and reduced hip fractures and improved cognition

...

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