Dr. Mary Claire Haver

Through tits to the DNA.

You know, if we look at how we're dividing cells and all that, if your breast cancer cell

through the malignant transformation, retains its estrogen receptor, which healthy cells have to have to be healthy.

Okay?

Yeah.

We need estrogen receptors to make the breast cells do what they do.

If it retains its estrogen cell, it is now estrogen receptor positive, and they can use that receptor against the cancer cell to stop the breast cancer from growing.

So if you have an estrogen receptor positive cancer that, you know, that we don't want to feed, then you might be getting tamoxifen or CIRM or one of the anti-estrogens or aromatase inhibitor, you know, to fight your breast cancer.

That's totally reasonable.

So not everyone is a candidate for hormone therapy.

If you have a hormone-sensitive cancer anywhere in your body to that particular, to estrogen or progesterone, you're not a candidate.

If you have severe liver disease, you're not going to process and break down estrogen the appropriate way.

You're not a candidate.

If you have unexplained vaginal bleeding, you've not had the ultrasound or workup or biopsies, you're not ready for HRT.

So...

There are, you know, patients, all of these are very nuanced conversations.

But just because you've had breast cancer does not mean that you are going to be categorically denied hormone therapy.

No problem.

Blood clots, don't do oral estrogen, do transdermal.

You know, again, nuanced conversations, so much misinformation.