Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) for Menopause: Benefits & Risks

Question
hi.  this is a question for my mother.  she is 55 years old and she has two children.  she is starting to go into menopause. there has been so much negative research concerning hrt that she stopped taking the hormones and started taking a soy product but it is not as effective at relieving symptoms so  she is thinking about going back on hrt.  i am really concerned about this because of all the risks associated with it.  we do not have a history of breast cancer or any cancer in our family but it still scares me.  recently, i've heard a little about bhrt or natural hormone replacement therapy.  i've heard so many benefits of it over the synthetics but what are the risks?  i can't seem to find any information about potential risks.  common sense tells me that there must be some.  is there any documentation on the risks involved with long term use?  

Answer
Natural hormonal replacement has not been studied in the traditional manner and we do not know what side effects or long term complications are associated with its use, at this time. We still recommend hormonal replacement therapy. The risks are still minimal. The studies that have hit the newspapers have scared many people and have to be taken in prospective. HRT does not protect you agains heart disease and should not be used for that purpose. The risk of breast cancer in the general population (not taking hormones) is 10%. When you take HRT it increases the risk to 12%. This is a very small risk. In 10,000 women, there will be 6 more who will get breast cancer if they take hormonal replacement, 8 more will get strokes and 8 may get a heart attack. Eight less will have rectal cancer. The symptoms (flushes, night sweats, dryness, memory loss) can only be helped by Estrogen. The soy products do not work as well and we do not know the efficacy of the natural hormones. Recently, 25% of the women who went off the hormones due to the adverse press, when back on them because the pills made them feel better. As long as you take annual mammograms and see your gynecologist regularly, there is no danger.