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| Doctors are being urged to prescribe HRT despite potential cancer risks |
HEALTH regulator argues controversial treatment is still the right choice.
Doctors are being urged to prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to women going through menopause, despite potential cancer risks.
The NHS treatments adviser has issued guidelines that hundreds of thousands more women should be taking the controversial treatment.
The guidelines have been just issued by National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).
In the report, NICE acknowledges many medical professionals are reluctant to offer HRT.
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| Many medical professionals are reluctant to offer HRT |
However, the guidelines still argue that HRT is the most effective treatment for many women.
Figures show that prescriptions have almost halved in the past decade, according to NICE.
Dr Imogen Shaw is one of the experts who helped develop the guideline.
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| Women experiencing menopause commonly suffer from hot flushes |
Speaking to The Independent, she said: "For the last decade, some GPs have been worried about prescribing HRT, and women worried about taking it."
Chair of the menopause guideline development group, Professor Mary Ann Lumsden, said the number of women taking HRT is less than 15 per cent in most of Britain.
Speaking to The Independent, Professor Mary Ann said: "What we would like is that people who need it and would benefit from it have the option of considering it, we're not saying any more than that."
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| Figures show that prescriptions have almost halved in the past decade |
The guideline states that "no other treatment has been shown to be as effective as HRT for menopausal symptoms."
The NICE website states: "HRT with oestrogen and progestogen can be associated with an increase in the risk of breast cancer but any increase risk reduces after stopping HRT."
An estimated 1.5 million women in the UK experience symptoms of menopause that include hot flushes and night sweats.
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