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Breast cancer - managing family history - Management
What advice should I give about hormone replacement therapy?
- Seek specialist advice if the woman is considering hormone replacement treatment (HRT) and fulfils the criteria for specialist assessment of her risk of breast cancer.
- Generally:
- Inform women who are considering taking, or who are already taking, HRT of the increase in breast cancer risk (associated with the type and duration of treatment).
- Ensure that oestrogen-only HRT is prescribed if the woman does not have a uterus.
- Keep the dose as low as possible for as short a time as possible.
- Generally, if the woman is at moderate-to-high risk of breast cancer, then HRT should only be given until she reaches 50 years of age.
- For women who have had breast cancer, see the section on Current or previous breast cancer in the CKS topic on Menopause.
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