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| Dr. Gino Tutera |
When understanding what breast health is, it is important to understand what is normal and what is not. Doctors encourage women to practice doing regular breast self-exams. The menstrual cycle can change the sensitivity and texture of breasts and understanding this helps you know when something is different or abnormal. Your age, hormone levels and medication may cause changes in your breasts.
The stoppage of the study called the Women’s Health Initiative (W.H.I.) due to increasing rates of breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease, caused shock waves in our society. This study demonstrated that oral conjugated estrogen, estrogen removed from horse urine, such as Premarin, especially when coupled with synthetic progesterone (i.e: Premarin™, Provera™, Prempro™, Premphase™) caused a slight increase in the rate of breast cancer cases developing in the study group. The problem with this study in the conclusion reached was that all estrogen caused the same problems. This is simply illogical. Oral conjugated estrogen (Premarin™, etc) is horse estrogen and is as different from human estrogen as night is to day. The logic that oral estrogen (Premarin™) causes an increase in breast cancer therefore all estrogen does the same is hogwash. This would be comparable to saying that because one cosmetic company produces a bad mascara that all mascaras are bad for you. This is not logical. All estrogen is not the same. The estrogen therapy promoted in this book is bio-identical. Which means it is identical to that which the human body produces, and does not cause any of the problems that horse or synthetic estrogen may cause.
The body makes three different estrogens: estrone, estradiol and estriol. The major estrogen in a woman is estradiol. In fact, it is produced in amounts twice as great as the levels of estrone in the blood. This ratio of estradiol to estrone normally is 2:1. To normally function a women’s body has to have this ratio of estrogens present. If the ratio is changed, it would cause too much estrone to be made, and this estrogen is a very strong breast stimulator. One reason women complain of breast tenderness while on oral estrogens is because all oral estrogens do not keep the normal ratio of estradiol to estrone at 2:1. In fact the ratio seen with Premarin and all tablets containing conjugated estrogens is a complete reversals of this ratio to 1:2. The oral estradiol (i.e. Estrace) tablets usually make the normal ratio of 2:1 change to 1:1. This identical ratio is also seen with the estradiol used in all the estrogen patches. The only form of estrogen therapy that reproduces the normal ratio of estrogens in the body are the type used in SottoPelle™ therapy (estradiol pellets). Dr. M.Thom in her articles published in 1980 and 1981 in the British Journal of Medicine and British Journal of OB/GYN demonstrated this very elegantly.
A few comments regarding estriol. Estriol has been touted as an estrogen that does not cause breast cancer. The evidence for this is faulty. The amount of estriol used in these studies was so low that the estrogen level in the blood would be very low. If enough estriol is given to produce a relief of symptoms of the menopause such as vaginal dryness and changing of hot flashes, the dosage would be 2 to 4 times the amount used in these studies. In fact any estrogen given in doses that equal the doses used in these studies would also show no increase in the incidence of breast cancer.
This leads to only one conclusion. Give women the estrogen the body uses commonly, estradiol. Furthermore, recreate the normal ratio of estradiol to the other estrogens, 2:1. and remember the only form of estrogen replacement therapy that can do all of this is biologically identical estradiol pellets that SottoPelle® Therapy uses and its SottoPelle® Nutritional Supplements.
In addition to self-exams, it is also important to get regular screenings and diagnostic tests such as clinical breast exams, breast ultrasounds and mammograms and or thermagrams. Knowledge is powerful. It is important to talk to your primary care physician if you have concerns about breast changes or breast health. Taking care of yourself is a necessity and the key to that is arming yourself with all the information you can. The first year survival rate for breast cancer is above ninety percent when caught early and because one in eight US women will develop breast cancer, understanding breast health is vital.
While the cause is still unknown, some steps standout for breast cancer prevention. Read more about it at http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/guide/understanding-breast-cancer-prevention.
