Breast Cancer Survivors Face Conflicting Advice on Menopause Hormone Therapy

Breast cancer survivors are encountering repeated refusals when seeking hormone therapies and other menopause treatments, Usa Today reported. Erika Wurth found a lump in her right breast just after turning 50 and was diagnosed last year. She underwent a lumpectomy, four rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, then experienced medication-induced menopause.

Wurth cold capped her waist-length hair before cutting it into a pixie, changed her diet and began lifting weights seven days a week. Her initial doctor refused hormone replacement therapy, and two additional physicians declined to discuss hormones. A urologist later prescribed estrogen gel, oral progesterone and vaginal estrogen cream.

Paulina Teng learned she had breast cancer after her first mammogram in 2019. The 47-year-old jewelry designer had a lumpectomy, underwent radiation and took Tamoxifen. In 2025 she began feeling tired, bloated and anxious.

Her physicians advised against hormone replacement therapy but offered few alternatives. Teng consulted a menopause specialist from Midi Health who recommended vitamins, supplements, diet and lifestyle changes. She lives in a Boston suburb.

Megan Brownell, 52, watched her sister Tracey Kennedy, 55, complete surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for breast cancer. Kennedy had previously taken hormone pellets. Her gynecologist suggested testosterone while her oncologist disagreed.

Brownell is taking the non-hormonal drug Lynkuet and requires blood draws every three months to monitor liver enzymes. Temperatures in Phoenix reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit during the period covered. Brownell sets her thermostat at 73 degrees and uses fans during Zoom calls.