Forgotten but not gone When tragedy strikes, it seems to be human nature to etch the moment into your memory forever. The Kennedy assassination, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina…as different as these terrible events all were, one of the common threads they share is that they impacted us as a nation, and each and every one of us likely remembers where we were and what we were doing when we heard the horrible news. But there's another event that occurred several years ago that had all the makings of a national tragedy, and yet, it's been forgotten by over 70 percent of the people it directly impacted. I'm talking about the Women's Health Initiative study, which was halted abruptly back in 2002 when the researchers discovered that women undergoing mainstream hormone replacement therapy had significantly increased risks of serious heart problems, strokes, and cancer. Please don't misunderstand: In no way am I trying to belittle the losses suffered by the people involved in the horrible situations I mentioned at the beginning of this message. The findings regarding synthetic hormone replacement therapy do seem to pale in comparison to those events. But they also left millions of women to pick up the pieces and attempt to deal with the risk they now faced on top of the sudden withdrawal of a therapy that not only did they think was safe, but that had also, in many cases, been working (at least in terms of symptom relief). Alternatives seemed hard to come by, but little by little, more information about bio- identical hormone replacement therapy made its way to the public, and more and more women began opting for this safe, natural solution to the symptoms brought on by menopause. But then something happened. Maybe it was a deliberate effort on the part of Big Pharma to hush the doubts and mistrust that the public was suddenly voicing about its so-called miracle drugs. Or maybe it was just a simple matter of time passing. But whatever the cause, memories of the news about HRT that sent a shock wave through the country (and not just the health media), started to fade. Now, five years later, only 29 percent of women surveyed by Stanford University researchers said that they knew about the study that uncovered those risks. And only a slightly higher percentage was aware of what those risks entailed. We're heading into very dangerous territory here. Just because we can't remember those risks doesn't mean they've gone away. You know what they say about history being doomed to repeat itself… If we don't remember the important events that have occurred and apply what we've learned from them, that is. And I would argue that health advances and discoveries are just as important a part of history as any of the wars that have been waged or treaties that have been signed. After all, without them, we wouldn't be around to make history in other areas. So if your memory is a bit hazy about the Women's Health Initiative study and the dangers of mainstream HRT with Premarin and Prempro (and even if it hasn't), I urge you to go back and brush up on this important history lesson, as well as the brilliant advice Dr. Wright has been giving his patients for decades about how to make sure it doesn't repeat itself. Then send it to every woman you know. Be on the lookout for the upcoming December issue of Nutrition & Healing. In it, Dr. Wright will be discussing bio-identical hormone replacement therapy safety. And in the meantime, the September 2002 issue of Nutrition & Healing also covered this topic in detail, and the December and August 2003 issues offer even more additional information on this natural -- and much safer form -- of hormone replacement therapy. Subscribers can download these issues for free by visitingwww.wrightnewsletter.com and logging on to the archives with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent newsletter. (If you're not already a subscriber, the website also contains complete details on how to become one.) Source: "Most women unaware of hormone replacement study," HealthDay News (www.healthday.com), 9/21/07 | 
