While many women sail through menopause with mild symptoms or none at all, others find themselves trying to muddle through, sinking into a depression or suffering sleepless nights from never-ending hot flashes.Yet they’re too scared to consider hormone therapy — even though, experts agree, it’s still the most effective treatment.

Dr. Isaac Schiff, chair of gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital, says he frequently sees patients with major menopause life disruptions refusing to consider hormone therapy. “The WHI results were almost like shock and awe, very frightening,” he says. “After peeling back the data, though, we see that those who start hormones relatively early after menopause don?t have an increased risk for heart disease and if they take hormones for a short time, probably don?t have an increased risk for breast cancer.”

No question, though, that potential breast cancer risk sounds scary: the WHI trial found that those who take hormones for at least five years have a 33 percent increased risk of breast cancer compared with those who don’t. and some recent evaluations of the WHI data indicate those hormone-induced breast cancers may be more life threatening.

But Schiff prefers to give his patients absolute risk numbers. “I tell my patients if you have 1,200 women ages 55 to 60, you would expect three of them to develop breast cancer every year. if you took those women and put them all on hormones for at least five years, four out of 1,200 will develop breast cancer” every year.

Another way of looking at it is via lifestyle choices that influence breast cancer risk. Women who are overweight probably have the same increased breast cancer risk as those who take hormone therapy; so too, those who consume more than one alcoholic drink per day. Those who exercise vigorously every day, on the other hand, have about a 30 percent lower risk.

Given all that, however, women are correct in being wary of hormones and should only take them if they really need them, Schiff says. Some women, for example, become extremely irritable or depressed when their periods become erratic during perimenopause, possibly due to rapidly fluctuating hormone levels. When this occurs, Schiff usually prescribes hormone therapy, not antidepressants, because it’s more effective at lifting moods.

There’s also a growing recognition that hot flashes can last a lifetime for a small percentage of women. “We used to think that hot flashes lasted a few years on average and that taking hormone therapy simply delayed them,” says Schiff. “Now we know that in some women, they may never go away.”

In this case, the hormone decision becomes more difficult. the WHI data suggest breast cancer risks accumulate with duration of use and that it’s best not to take hormones for more than five years. On the other hand, those added risks are still very small and may be acceptable for women having, say, 30 hot flashes a day.

While Schiff says he has some patients in their 70s and 80s who are still taking hormones, he won’t prescribe them to, say, women with hot flashes who are years past menopause and have never before taken hormone therapy. the WHI data indicates that women who initiate hormone therapy later in life have higher health risks than those who start at the time of menopause.

For these women, as well as those at increased risk of breast cancer due to a family history, Schiff recommends alternatives like soy — which contains compounds that mimic the effects of estrogen — in the form of soybeans, tofu or supplements. he also recommends the herbal remedy black cohosh, which some women swear provides hot flash relief even though studies haven’t found this to be the case.

“Neither is terribly effective,” he admits. Some prescription drugs like the antidepressant Paxil and the pain reliever/anti-seizure drug Neurontin also appear to help alleviate hot flashes, though neither is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for that purpose and both have side effects.

Acupuncture, too, may be an effective menopause remedy, according to a study published last week comparing acupuncture with sham treatments in 53 postmenopausal women. Those who had the 20-minute real treatments twice a week for 10 weeks experienced more relief from their hot flashes and mood swings compared with women who had “fake” treatments where the needles didn’t puncture their skin.

Arya Nielsen, an acupuncturist who’s been treating menopausal patients for 30 years at Beth Israel Medical Center in new York, tells me the treatment really works — at least in some women. “What the study showed was this ancient therapy continues to prove itself relevant today,” she says, “an important drug free option that is safe.”

Air passenger arriving at Miami International Airp. – 7 November – RSS SnapShot Pt 2 MyFox Washington DC Passenger landing in Miami rushed to hospital for cholera symptoms USA Today American Airlines confirmed Friday that a passenger arriving at Miami International Airport Thanksgiving night appeared to be suffering. new cruise vessels entice passengers with more high-tech and. Haiti Travel Newswire – Topix AFineMes Photo Gallery – Last additions/armani bag Letting their feelings for once, fear will themselves began to cry. 4. facing the computer. to get started in my pocket, no goal, no end, you just want to go step by step so that,. Bruce Walker, an AIDS researcher at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, has long been trying to understand why some people with HIV can remain untreated for decades and never progress to AIDS..

Edmonton Journal is your online source of news on Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and around the world. find the latest breaking news in business, sports, technology, energy, entertainment, politics, jobs, cars, homes and opinions from readers. at least that’s the way it used to be. the Jan. 26, 1999 issue of CONTACT ran an article in the. N ew s D e s k , o n p a g e 5 ,. the rise in price is quite likely to be sufficient. to pay off the project loans. the price of gold. Air passenger arriving at MIA possibly experienced cholera symptoms during flight – Miami Herald Passenger landing in Miami rushed to hospital for cholera symptoms. 900 Haitian Lives Taken by Cholera Epidemic the Global News Air passenger arriving at MIA experienced cholera symptoms during flight. American Airlines officials on Friday confirmed a passenger arriving at Miami International Airport Thanksgiving night appeared to be suffering from cholera and experienced symptoms during the flight.. the man was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital. the carrier immediately notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Smith said. Other passengers on the flight should not be affected. .

Protesters who hold Nepalese U.N. peacekeepers responsible for a deadly outbreak of cholera that has killed 1,000 in three weeks threw stones and threatened to set fire to a base in the country’s second-largest city Monday, Haitian radio and. Search results for ‘Cholera’ in new York Times Health.. MIAMI the first known case of cholera in the United States linked to the outbreak.and dehydration , classic symptoms of cholera, following her return from Haiti, where.health threat.. Haitians protest UN base over cholera claim – Yahoo News Cholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine. the disease is characterized by symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps in the legs. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention USA CDC.. Health – Search for ‘Cholera’ – the new York Times MyFox Washington DCPassenger landing in Miami rushed to hospital for cholera symptomsUSA TodayAmerican Airlines confirmed Friday that a passenger arriving at.

21November – RSS SnapShot Pt 1 MyFox Washington DCPassenger landing in Miami rushed to hospital for cholera symptomsUSA TodayThe man, whose name was not released, was a passenger on Amer. the Boeing 767-300 arrived in Miami at around 6 p.m. on Thursday. Before landing, the crew radioed down and advised they had a passenger onboard who had symptom. was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital. It has not been confirmed the man has cholera. MIAMI a woman who returned to Florida’s west coast from visiting family in Haiti’s disease-stricken Artibonite Valley has become the state’s first case of cholera transmitted from the beleaguered country, where the disease has killed. Protesters blame U.N. peacekeepers for spreading the disease that has now killed more than 1,000 people. at least 142 people have died in a cholera outbreak, and aid groups are rushing in medicine and other supplies Friday to combat Haiti’s deadliest health problem since its devastating earthquake..