Hormonious Heart: Reviews and Resources

I N P R I N T

Hormone Replacement Therapy may be relatively risk free, but there are some who would say it’s also unnecessary — including Margaret Morganroth Gullette, the author of Declining to Decline: Cultural Combat and the Politics of Midlife (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1997). Gullette challenges the popular notion that we should fight aging every step of the way and advocates a dismissal of the technologies that keeps us artifically young — including HRT.

“If the mainstream had a menoboom-resistant strain of writers,” she argues, “Journalists could write articles as long as they like about ‘Better Sex after Menopause,’ and ‘Carefree after Fifty.'”

Gullette’s personal discomforts about aging are notable, making it hard to read the book as an unbiased study of middle age. But she does have a point — the most natural way to resist aging is not to resist at all.

A R O U N D T H E N E T

COLUMBIA/HCA HEALTHCARE CORP.: THE PROS AND CONS OF HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
The self-proclaimed “Premier Healthcare Information Site” weighs the risks and rewards of HRT. Roy C. Saguiguit, M.D., Columbia doctor, never does say why HRT works, but gives a good overview of what signs mean danger.

NEW ENGLAND RESEARCH INSTUTUTES: WHAT IS HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY?
This NERI page includes a brief history of HRT, and points out why studies aren’t the truest indicator of danger. The site also has handy graphics with anatomically correct stick figures, and hit-and-miss anchor tags (some work, some don’t, so be ready to scroll).

NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE’S FACT SHEET ON MENOPAUSAL HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
Starting with a thorough description of what menopause actually is, the NCI’s fact sheet covers all the bases, including some predictions for HRT’s future, and a list of contact numbers for more information.