Two separate lawsuits were brought up against Wyeth, each revolving around the safety of a hormone replacement supplement known as Prempro (or Premarin). The women involved in these cases worked with doctors and lawyers to prove that their long term use of Prempro had caused them to develop breast cancer.

Two Philadelphia cases have set precedent for future cases and more than 10,000 women are in line to take a chunk out of Wyeth. Donna Kendall was awarded $28 million in punitive damages. She developed breast cancer after taking Prempro for 11 years. Connie Barton was awarded $75 million in punitive damages as well as $3.7 million in compensatory damages.

The Women’s Health Institute released a study back in 2002 stating that women who had used the hormone therapy replacement Prempro had a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer. Instead of having the drug pulled off the market, the FDA only required Wyeth to add a black-box warning to the packaging.

Wyeth, which is now owned by Pfizer,  is accused of not studying the side effects of the drug, as well as having paid ghost-writers to write articles for medical journals without focusing on the risks or side effects, including the known risks of breast cancer.

Pfizer plans to appeal the decisions and we’ll be watching closely to see what happens.

Want to read more about these settlements? Check out the IPWorld article released when the judgments came through:

Pfizer to pay US$113m over hormone replacement drug

Related posts:

1. When to use Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
2. Estriol – A Safer Estrogen Alternative?
3. Why Transdermal Hormone Creams Work the Best

The 2/16 estrogen metabolism test could save your life.

Yes, it’s a fact.

The 2/16 estrogen metabolism test is a simple urine test that scientists feel predicts your chances of developing breast cancer.  If you know you have risk factors for breast cancer, there are steps you can take now that can reduce those odds.

Estrogen and Breast Cancer

Even if there is no history of breast cancer anywhere in your family, you could still be at risk.  Did you know that only 20%-30% of the people who get breast cancer each year have any family history of the disease?  Every year  150,000 women  in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer.  That means around 110,000 of them  had no history to serve as a warning that they were a likely breast cancer victim.

Now research has discovered a strong connection between breast cancer and estrogen.   Based on this knowledge,  the 2/16 estrogen metabolism test should be considered a vital step in preventing breast cancer.

For more information about the research findings, see The Link Between Estrogen Dominance and Breast Cancer.

How the 2/16 Estrogen Metabolism Test Predicts Breast Cancer

Estrogen, like other hormones, needs to be expelled from the body after it has done its assigned task.  The liver is the main organ that breaks the hormone down into bits called metabolites.  These metabolites are excreted from the body through bile and urine.

Estrogen is broken down into two main metabolites called 2-hydroxyestrone and 16-hydroxyestrone.  Like the two forms of cholesterol, one is considered ‘good’ and one is considered ‘bad’.  In this case, the 2-hydroxyestrone is the good guy, or anti-carcinogenic.  The metabolite 16-hydroxyestrone is pro-carcinogenic, or, in other words, is the one believed to stimulate cells to reproduce, including cancerous cells in the breast.

When a person’s urine is analyzed in the 2/16 estrogen metabolism test, laboratory technicians evaluate the balance of the two types of estrogen metabolites and figure the ratio.  A ratio of 2.0 or higher seems to indicate a lower risk of getting breast cancer.  A lower ratio indicates your chances for developing the disease is higher.

Must You See a Physician to Do a 2/16 Estrogen Metabolism Ratio Test?

Although you do collect an early morning urine sample at home, at this time you do need a prescription from a physician to have the test conducted.  When you visit your doctor, tell him that you want a 2/16 estrogen metabolism ratio test.  In fact, insist upon it.  The more you know about your own body, the better equipped you are to take care of it.

The 2/16 estrogen metabolism test is not meant to replace the mammogram, but is meant to work in conjunction with it and to give people an earlier warning if they are at a high risk of developing breast cancer.

The best part is that when you have that knowledge, you can take steps to lower your your bad estrogen, thereby decreasing your chances of developing the condition.  Oftentimes, forewarned is forearmed, as the old saying goes.  Insist that your doctor order a 2/16 estrogen metabolism ratio test as soon as possible and find out if you have a high risk of developing breast cancer and what you can do to help prevent this from occurring.

Related posts:

1. The Link Between Estrogen Dominance and Breast Cancer
2. Why You Need to Test for Ovulation (Even if you don’t want to get pregnant)
3. DIM: Control Estrogen with Cruciferous Veggies in a Pill