by SXHH Marketing | Oct 15, 2025 | Hormone Replacement Therapy, Menopause, Wellness
Every October, we come together to honor those affected by breast cancer and to raise awareness that empowers women, not frightens them.
At HerKare, we know that breast cancer awareness also means supporting women’s confidence in their health choices. One of the biggest sources of confusion and fear is hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and whether it increases breast cancer risk.
It’s a complicated topic, and it’s easy to feel torn between wanting relief from menopausal symptoms and wanting to protect your long-term health. So this Breast Cancer Awareness Week, let’s look at the real science behind HRT and separate fear from fiction.
Myth 1: “HRT Always Causes Breast Cancer”
Fact: The truth is more nuanced. Some forms of HRT, especially those that combine estrogen and progesterone, have been shown to slightly increase the risk of breast cancer when used long-term (usually more than five years).
However, estrogen-only HRT, which is prescribed to women who’ve had a hysterectomy, has not shown the same increase. Some studies even suggest it might lower risk in certain cases.
And here’s the important part:
When therapy is stopped, the risk gradually returns to normal over the next few years.
Myth 2: “If You Have a Family History of Breast Cancer, HRT Is Off-Limits”
Fact: A family history doesn’t automatically disqualify you from using HRT.
For many women, especially those using short-term, low-dose therapy, the added risk is minimal, even with family history.
Your provider can help you understand your personal risk profile and choose a plan that works for your body and your comfort level.
Myth 3: “All HRT Is the Same”
Fact: Hormone therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all.
The type of hormones, the way they’re delivered (pill, patch, gel, or cream), and the dose all make a difference.
For example, transdermal estrogen (through the skin) and bioidentical hormones may offer similar benefits with a lower impact on breast cancer risk compared to some older formulations.
Myth 4: “Once You Take HRT, You’ll Always Be at Higher Risk”
Fact: Thankfully, that’s not true.
After stopping HRT, most women’s breast cancer risk returns to baseline within about five years, and often sooner for those who used lower doses.
Myth 5: “Estrogen-Only HRT Is Completely Safe”
Fact: While estrogen-only HRT carries less breast cancer risk, it can increase the risk of uterine cancer in women who still have their uterus, which is why progesterone is added for protection.
The safest HRT plan depends on your complete medical history, which is why individualized care is most important.
People Also Ask
Q: Does HRT increase my risk of breast cancer?
A: Some types may slightly increase risk after several years, especially estrogen-progestin therapy. Estrogen-only therapy has a lower risk profile.
Q: Can women with a family history of breast cancer use HRT?
A: Often, yes, but it’s vital to begin with a personalized plan and close monitoring. Discuss your risk level and hormone options with your healthcare provider.
Q: Does HRT affect mammograms or breast density?
A: It can temporarily increase breast density, which can make imaging less clear. Regular screenings help ensure accurate results.
Q: How long can I safely stay on HRT?
A: Most women can use HRT safely for 3–5 years, though some continue longer under medical supervision if the benefits outweigh the risks.
A Word from Our Medical Team
“At SynergenX, we believe women deserve the full picture — not fear. The risks of hormone therapy are often overstated, and with the right supervision, HRT can help women feel healthy, balanced, and vibrant through menopause and beyond.”
— Michael Seay, MSN, APRN, NP-C
The Bottom Line
For many women, HRT can safely ease the symptoms of menopause (improving sleep, focus, energy, and mood) while the associated breast cancer risk remains small, temporary, and manageable.
If you’re struggling with hot flashes, mood swings, or other menopause symptoms but worried about HRT, remember this:
Knowledge is empowerment. Your provider’s job is to help you find balance, not make you choose between comfort and safety.
This Breast Cancer Awareness Week, take time to schedule your screenings, learn your options, and make informed decisions about your health, your way.
Sources
- Beral V. et al. Type and timing of menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk. The Lancet. 2019;394(10204):1159–1168. The Lancet
- National Institute for Health and Care Research. Risk of breast cancer with HRT depends on therapy type and duration. NIHR Evidence
- NHS. Benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). NHS UK
- Cancer Research UK. Does hormone replacement therapy increase cancer risk? CancerResearchUK.org
- BreastCancer.org. HRT and Breast Cancer Risk. BreastCancer.org
- ICR. Short-term HRT use and family history of breast cancer. icr.ac.uk
by SXHH Marketing | Apr 2, 2024 | Hormone Replacement Therapy
Hormonal imbalances can disrupt your life, impacting your mood, energy, and overall well-being. If you’re struggling with unexplained fatigue, weight changes, or mood swings, it’s worth exploring whether your hormones are out of sync, requiring hormone replacement treatment.
Two of your primary hormones that can easily become imbalanced are estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is primarily produced in the ovaries. It plays a significant role in female development and various bodily processes. Progesterone is another essential hormone produced mainly in the ovaries, with smaller amounts created by the adrenal glands. Like estrogen, it impacts a wide range of functions within your body.
When your hormones fluctuate or fall out of their optimal ranges, daily life can feel like an uphill battle. You don’t have to struggle alone. At HerKare, we understand the impact of hormonal imbalances. We can assess your hormone levels and develop a personalized hormone replacement treatment plan to restore balance. Our goal is to help you reclaim your energy, your mood, and feel like yourself again.
Summary
Estrogen and progesterone serve different roles in the body. Estrogen is responsible for supporting bone health, mood regulation, and vaginal and skin health. Progesterone helps regulate sleep and balance the effects of estrogen. Together, they work to maintain overall hormonal imbalance in the body.
Estrogen is typically used to treat core menopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and brain fog. However, estrogen alone is only prescribed for women who do not have a uterus.
Progesterone is estrogen’s best friend in helping balance the effects of estrogen in the body. Progesterone helps calm the nervous system, improving sleep and reducing anxiety. Without enough progesterone, some women may experience symptoms of estrogen dominance.
Estrogen and progesterone are often used together in hormone replacement therapy for women who still have a uterus. This combination helps mimic the body’s natural hormonal balance more accurately. Estrogen provides symptom relief and progesterone add regulatory effects. When used together, they can improve quality of life during menopause.
Key Functions of Your Hormones
Estrogen
Estrogen isn’t one single hormone. It is actually a group of closely-related hormones that can significantly impact your health, including estradiol, estrone, and estriol.
Here are some of estrogen’s key roles in your body:
- Shaping the Female Form: Estrogen drives the development of female secondary sex characteristics during puberty, such as breasts and wider hips. These changes mark the transition to womanhood and prepare the body for potential pregnancy.
- Orchestrating the Menstrual Cycle: Estrogen plays a critical role in regulating the menstrual cycle and ovulation. It helps thicken the uterine lining to prepare for a potential pregnancy. If pregnancy doesn’t occur, estrogen levels drop, triggering menstruation.
- Protecting Bones: Estrogen promotes bone health by helping the body effectively utilize calcium. When estrogen levels decline, such as after menopause, the risk of osteoporosis (bone weakening) increases.
- Influencing Mood and Brain Function: Estrogen receptors are found throughout the brain, suggesting a role in mood and cognitive function. Fluctuations in estrogen levels can contribute to mood swings, irritability, and even depression in some women.
Progesterone
Progesterone has several essential functions:
- Pregnancy Support: Progesterone’s primary role is to prepare the uterus for a potential pregnancy. After ovulation, it thickens the uterine lining, creating a nourishing environment for a fertilized egg. If pregnancy occurs, progesterone levels remain high to support the developing pregnancy and prevent further ovulation.
- Menstrual Cycle Regulation: Progesterone works in tandem with estrogen to regulate the menstrual cycle. After ovulation, progesterone levels rise. If pregnancy doesn’t occur, progesterone levels drop, signaling the start of a new menstrual cycle.
- Mood Impacts: Like estrogen, progesterone influences neurotransmitters in the brain that affect mood. Fluctuations in progesterone levels, particularly the decline before menstruation, can contribute to irritability, anxiety, and mood swings in some women.
Symptoms of Hormone Deficiency in Women
Hormone replacement treatment for estrogen or progesterone, or both, helps you feel like yourself again.
Both estrogen and progesterone deficiencies can lead to a range of disruptive symptoms, with some overlap between the two. You may have been experiencing these symptoms on and off for years, like irregular periods, mood swings, or unexplained fatigue. Perhaps you assumed these were all due to the stress of your daily life, but if they persist, it could be a sign of an underlying hormonal imbalance. In fact, many women live with hormone imbalances for years without realizing it.
Estrogen Deficiency:
- Hot flashes and night sweats
- Vaginal dryness
- Irregular periods or absent periods
- Mood swings, irritability, and brain fog
- Decreased bone density
Progesterone Deficiency:
- Irregular periods or spotting
- Difficulty getting or staying pregnant
- Mood changes, including anxiety and irritability
- Sleep disturbances
Irregular periods, mood swings, and irritability can be experienced with deficiencies in either estrogen or progesterone, which is why it’s crucial to get your hormone levels checked properly. That way, you’ll have an accurate diagnosis for hormone replacement treatment.
What Causes Hormonal Imbalances?
Hormone levels naturally fluctuate throughout a woman’s life, but some situations can cause a more significant decline.
Birth control pills can suppress estrogen production. Additionally, conditions like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) can disrupt estrogen levels. Perimenopause (the years leading up to menopause) often triggers a decline in estrogen production, leading to symptoms like hot flashes and irregular periods. Plus, menopause itself marks a significant decrease in estrogen.
Similar to estrogen, progesterone levels naturally decline during perimenopause and menopause. Additionally, some women experience a condition called luteal phase defect, where progesterone production specifically during the second half of the menstrual cycle is inadequate. Stress, eating disorders, and excessive exercise can all disrupt ovulation, leading to lower progesterone levels and potentially irregular periods.
Types of Hormone Replacement Treatment You May Need
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) offers a solution if you are struggling with the effects of hormonal imbalance. HRT aims to replenish declining hormones, helping to relieve a wide range of symptoms.
Your treatment can include a bioidentical form of estrogen that closely resembles the estrogen produced naturally by your body. For women who still have a uterus, progesterone is usually included as well. This combination therapy is crucial because estrogen alone can increase the risk of endometrial cancer. Progesterone replacement helps counteract this risk by balancing estrogen’s effects on the uterus.
Personalized Hormone Replacement Treatment to Restore Balance
If you’re experiencing symptoms that suggest hormonal imbalance, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. We understand the complexities of women’s health and can guide you through the process. Our healthcare team can assess your hormone levels, discuss your individual needs, and design a customized hormone replacement treatment plan for you. Remember, you deserve to feel your best, and with the right approach, you can achieve hormonal balance and reclaim your well-being.
by SXHH Marketing | Jan 25, 2019 | Wellness
A lot of first time moms think that pregnancy weight will just fall off quickly after delivering their babies. We’ve all heard of those people who say they wore their pre-baby skinny jeans home from the hospital, and you might bring yours, too, thinking that’s normal. However, a lot of people quickly find out that it doesn’t really work like that. Weight loss after pregnancy can be much more complicated than that.
Post baby weight loss may be hard for many reasons, but there are solutions to help you shed those extra pounds.
After delivering your baby, there are healthy ways to lose the extra weight while taking care of you and your newborn. Following a good diet and exercise program approved by your doctor is one way to start chipping away at the extra weight you gained during pregnancy. However, what do you do if you’re following these guidelines and still can’t lose those extra pounds? Sometimes, postpartum weight can be incredibly stubborn. If it’s harder to lose baby weight than you expected, there may be several reasons for this, including sleep issues, breastfeeding, and hormone imbalances. Read on to learn why these things can affect your postpartum weight loss and some tips to help you lose weight healthily after pregnancy.
If you’re struggling with weight management, make an appointment with our team today. We can help identify underlying causes to get you the help you need to live a healthier, happier life.
Summary
- Hormonal changes after pregnancy can make it harder to lose weight, especially if thyroid function, estrogen, or progesterone haven’t fully normalized. These shifts can slow metabolism and increase fat storage even when you’re eating well and staying active. Balancing hormones play a bigger role than many women realize postpartum.
- Sleep disruption and stress from caring for a new baby can significantly impact weight loss efforts. Lack of sleep raises cortisol which increases appetite and chronic stress signals the body to store more fat.
- Diet and exercise alone aren’t always enough if lifestyle demands and metabolic changes aren’t aligned. New moms may underestimate the calories they eat and burn, especially when juggling childcare and work. Focusing on realistic movement goals rather than extreme workouts can support more effective and manageable weight loss.
Lack of Sleep Hinders Weight Loss
As a new parent, you’re probably familiar with some level of sleep deprivation. Your bundle of joy is likely keeping you awake at night and throughout the day, cutting into the amount of sleep you get. Keep in mind that sleep and weight loss are linked pretty closely. So, if you’re struggling to get enough sleep, that might be the problem making it hard to lose the post baby weight.
Lack of sleep isn’t just frustrating, it can also affect your body in many ways, including by making it easier to gain weight and harder to lose weight. Many studies show that poor quality sleep is linked to weight management issues. There are a few reasons for this.
On one hand, when you’re feeling extremely tired because you’re not sleeping enough, you’re more likely to reach for calorie-dense foods. Your body knows it’s tired and often looks for ways to increase energy through food. That means you might start craving really high calorie foods that aren’t very good for you in high amounts, like refined carbs and sugars. As a result, you might be eating more calories than you really need, leading to your body storing that as extra fat to burn for energy later.
Also, sleep deprivation can affect your hunger hormones and throw them out of whack. For instance, sleep problems can actually increase ghrelin, a hormone that increases your appetite. So, once again, this can make it really easy to overeat, which makes weight loss hard after pregnancy.
Finally, there is some evidence that sleep deprivation can affect your metabolism. Your metabolism affects how many calories you burn over time. However, lack of sleep can actually lower your metabolic rate, meaning you burn fewer calories than normal, which can encourage your body to hold onto extra weight.
Tips for Sleep-Related Weight Issues After Pregnancy
So, what can you do to help prevent sleep issues from affecting your weight loss goals after pregnancy? Of course, the easy answer is to simply sleep more, but obviously that’s easier said than done with a baby who needs your attention. However, don’t be afraid to get help where you can. Reach out to friends or family to watch the baby while you catch up on some rest. Also, rest whenever you can, even if that means letting some house chores slide a little.
Other things you can do include splitting up nighttime feeds between you and your partner. Taking it in shifts or alternating duties can allow you both to get some much needed sleep. As your baby grows, they’ll start waking up less at night, but until then try to do what you can to manage sleep health.
Also, keep in mind that you might need to fight off insomnia after pregnancy. Even when you feel so tired you can barely stand, you might still find it hard to sleep when you have the ability to. If this sounds like you, take some steps to make it easier to sleep. For example, making sure you have a dark and quiet environment and avoiding screens as much as possible before trying to fall asleep.
With these tips, you can start getting more sleep to give your body the rest it needs. As you start prioritizing your sleep and getting good quality sleep, you not only may feel more energy, but weight loss may become easier. If you’re still struggling to get a good night’s rest, then consider whether you might be suffering from a sleep disorder like sleep apnea and seek help from our medical team.
Breastfeeding Can Make it Hard to Lose Post Baby Weight
Many of us have heard that breastfeeding helps you lose weight after pregnancy, but this just may not be the case for you. Nursing does burn quite a lot of calories, but there are other things that can complicate weight loss if you’re breastfeeding. For instance, your body may actually hold onto a set amount of weight to hold in reserve so you can feed your baby even if food becomes scarce. This is because if you get too skinny, you won’t be able to feed your baby. So, your body may actually hold onto about 10 pounds or so while breastfeeding.
Part of why your body might do this is because of the hormone prolactin. You need prolactin to create breast milk. It can also encourage fat storage in your body. Prolactin usually increases during and after pregnancy and remains at high levels until you’re done breastfeeding. If you choose not to breastfeed, then prolactin levels will usually return to normal a few weeks postpartum.
Additionally, breastfeeding can trigger a pretty hefty appetite, which may lead you to overeat. There’s a misconception out there that you need to essentially eat for two when breastfeeding or that you can eat basically an unlimited number of calories because you’re burning so many by nursing. However, this simply isn’t the case. Most women only need an extra 300 to 400 extra calories to breastfeed. Yet, many breastfeeding people eat more than that by snacking on high calorie foods or eating more frequently than they really need to because breastfeeding can make you feel really hungry.
Weight Loss During and After Breastfeeding
If you’re having a hard time losing weight while breastfeeding, you’re not alone. In some cases, it may simply be a matter of waiting until you wean your little one. This helps restore your prolactin levels to normal and may allow you to start losing the extra weight your body held in reserve to feed your baby.
However, make sure that when breastfeeding that you’re using good portion control. As we mentioned, many breastfeeding women eat more than they really need to, which also affects your weight loss goals. A good place to start is to know how many calories you should be eating a day. Talk to your doctor about your specific needs. You can use the daily reference intake calculator to estimate how many calories you should be eating based on whether you’re lactating and how long you’ve been nursing for to get an idea. From there, you can adjust your diet to make sure you’re not eating too many calories that are getting stored by your body as extra weight.
Postpartum Hormone Imbalances Make Weight Loss Difficult
For a lot of women, postpartum weight loss issues stem from hormonal imbalances. Obviously, pregnancy causes a lot of hormone changes. Your hormones probably won’t snap back to normal the second your bundle of joy is here. In fact, it can take quite a while for your hormones to return to normal levels. For many women, it takes three to six months to get their estrogen and progesterone back on track, depending on whether they’re breastfeeding or not.
Also, keep in mind that many women also struggle with more chronic hormone issues after pregnancy. For instance, a lot of women struggle with low progesterone in the postpartum period. This can lead to estrogen dominance, which can encourage your body to store more fat, particularly around your midsection.
Another hormone imbalance that a lot of women struggle with after pregnancy is thyroid issues. Many people experience what’s called thyroiditis, which means the thyroid gland gets inflamed and can’t work properly. As a result, you might experience both hyperthyroid and hypothyroid issues. At first, your body may produce too much thyroid hormone in response to the inflammation, which can make you lose weight even with a higher appetite. However, over time, thyroiditis after pregnancy will lead to hypothyroid, which means you have too little thyroid hormone. This can actually make you gain weight or not be able to lose weight no matter how hard you try.
Get Your Hormones in Check to Help with Baby Weight
If you have a hard time with weight loss after pregnancy, it might be a hormone imbalance. In these cases, it’s important to talk to our team about your hormones and how to achieve your weight loss goals. Often, treating the underlying hormone imbalance will help you lose weight healthily if your hormones are stopping you from losing weight. Our healthcare professionals can test your hormone levels to determine if you have any imbalances and create personalized treatment solutions to help restore balance.
When to Consider Weight Loss Treatments
If you’ve tried to lose post baby weight without success, then it might be time to seek help from our healthcare team. We offer weight loss treatments tailored to you, including diet and nutrition planning, weight loss medicines, and hormone care all designed to address underlying issues that affect weight management. We work with you to understand why you’re struggling to lose weight and provide treatment solutions to help you healthily lose the weight and keep it off.
So, if you’re carrying around extra weight and you can’t lose it even with a healthy diet, portion control, and regular exercise, it might be time to reach out to see if there are underlying conditions affecting your weight and how to treat them so you can get back to a healthy weight after pregnancy.
Get Help Losing Weight with Personalized Solutions from HerKare
Our team at HerKare provides personalized healthcare to women at every life stage. We’re proud to provide a wide range of healthcare services to help you live your healthiest, happiest life. When you find yourself struggling to lose weight and keep it off, our team can help with weight loss solutions tailored to you and your lifestyle. Reach out now to schedule an appointment and take the first step to feeling like yourself again.
