Does the CEC recommend HRT for women with a history of endo but are post-hyst and BSO?
A. When a woman loses the estrogen that her ovaries produce, either through the natural aging process of menopause or more abruptly, through surgery, we need to think about the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Estrogen helps protect a woman’s bones against osteoporosis, it helps protect her heart from disease, and it has also been implicated as a help against Alzheimer’s. But HRT isn’t always the right choice. Some cancers respond to estrogen, so women who have had these cancers or a close family member who has had them must weigh HRT very carefully. Women with endo were told for decades that HRT would bring back their endo, and that they must do without it for months and months after surgery. The fact is, is all the endo is completely removed at the time of the surgery, a woman has nothing to fear from HRT. CEC doctors routinely give the first replaement estrogen in the recovery room, or, at worst, a few days later. On the other hand, if some endo was left behind, b
