Ask Larry:

Your Question: I’ve been taking Bi-est E2 0.2 and E3 0.08 1 mg twice a day for many years, along with progesterone 100mg at night.
I was told that estradiol can cause cancer. Should I just take estriol?
What is your opinion please?

Larry’s Response: There are a multitude of STORIES about hormone use, most of which conflict with others. It’s all but impossible to know the truth, especially as most of the stories are based on opinions, not scientific fact.

Cancer is a naturally occurring condition often caused by repeated abuse of something (sugar, tobacco, food, alcohol, and so on). Cancer happens to all of us practically every day. The good news is that our bodies deal with it – until it goes beyond our ability.

There are many suggestions for avoiding cancer and most of them boil down to staying healthy by eating good food, avoiding toxins, drinking clean water, and exercise. The vast majority of people don’t make the effort to do what’s healthy and end up sick – maybe with cancer.

The body only takes so much, then gives out.

I am certainly not the person to tell you what to do about your hormone use. That’s between you and your doctor. I can tell you, though, that I have begun to look less favorably on estrogen replacement over the years.

Where once I engaged in hormone testing and consultations I now recognize that the vast majority of people don’t need any estrogen at all. Instead, they are experiencing (suffering from) symptoms associated with hormone imbalance, which is almost always a deficiency of progesterone.

I do not recommend saliva testing or blood testing, especially when used to try to set dosing for hormones. There are numerous reasons, the most prominent being that they aren’t valid. Most doctors and laboratory workers would disagree.

My suggestion for progesterone is to use a high quality progesterone cream – one that does not contain paraben preservatives. I do not see the value or the overall safety in oral progesterone, though many people disagree. Again, the stories play a big part in this.

I do not think it wise to use progesterone every day. The better approach is to apply it according to a schedule that closely mimics the way progesterone rises and falls prior to menopause. I recommend the following cycle for progesterone;

  • Apply 20 mg once daily for days 1 through 12.
  • Apply 20 mg twice daily for days 13 through 26.
  •      Stop.
  •      Start again on day one.
  • If having cycles, day one is the first day of the period. Otherwise, a calendar is a great method for keep track.

For men, we suggest 10 mg daily, 6 days a week.

Sorry for the long-winded answer. There is much more I can offer and a lot of it is already published on our website and blogs.