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Resources

The Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research has developed a number of tools and resources that healthcare workers may find helpful.

Ovarian Hormone Therapy for Women with Early Menopause

We hear a lot of things about hormone therapy (often wrongly called Hormone Replacement Therapy or HRT) (1). Most of the time when “HRT” is used it is referring to the treatment of women who had natural (not surgical) menopause at a normal age. Before about 1998 we believed that estrogen made everything better, but now most of what we hear is bad. And that bad news doesn’t apply to you! Early or surgical menopause needs hormone therapy, but natural, normally timed menopause does not. Some women with early menopause have told me that their doctors stopped their hormone treatment when the Women’s Health Initiative results came out. That’s how confused even doctors are! The purpose of this is to help you feel confident about knowing how and when to take ovarian hormone therapy for a long and healthy life.

Type: 
Articles
Life Phase: 
Menopause

Help for Anovulatory Androgen Excess (AAE)—Challenge PCOS!

Answering questions about “polycystic ovary syndrome” (also called PCOS but which CeMCOR calls Anovulatory Androgen Excess or AAE) and exploring new and helpful information about this mysterious condition.

Type: 
Articles

What the Women’s Health Initiative Results Mean for Breast Cancer Survivors

In July 2002 a large, randomized control trial called the Women’s Health Initiative was stopped three years early with the conclusion that Estrogen plus Progestin (E+P) is, on balance, not an effective preventative medication for healthy menopausal women. The results of this trial have surprised both doctors and the general public, because they have shown that E+P does not prevent heart disease and causes breast cancer (1). We believe there are several changes in concepts about menopausal hormone therapy that are important for breast cancer survivors.

Type: 
Articles
Life Phase: 
Perimenopause, Menopause

Menstrual Cycle Diary Instructional Videos

In this four-part series, Dr. Jerilynn Prior, founder of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research, and a diverse panel of women discuss the importance of the menstrual cycle to a woman's overall health and explains how to keep track of your cycle using the Menstrual Cycle Diary.

Type: 
Video

A Positive View of Women’s Exercise, Menstrual Cycles and Ovulation

Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior

Dr Jerilynn Prior believes that “athletic amenorrhea” is a myth! There are no negative effects related to exercise if women start exercising when their cycles are mature and ovulatory, if they are of normal weight and maintain it, if life stresses are not major and if they begin and increase exercise sensibly.

Type: 
Articles

Progesterone Therapy for Symptomatic Perimenopause

Perimenopause, although characterized as a time of dropping estradiol involves chaotic estrogen levels that average >20% higher and intermittently are extremely high and ovulatory disturbances with decreasing progesterone levels. Perimenopause begins and is most symptomatic when cycles remain regular. Perimenopause is highly symptomatic for more than 20% of women--symptoms typically included heavy menstrual flow, night sweats, infertility, breast tenderness and sleep disturbances. Progesterone, because it normally counterbalances estradiol's actions, is effective treatment for heavy flow, probably night sweats, infertility and breast tenderness and definitely decreased anxiety and improves sleep.

Type: 
Articles
Life Phase: 
Perimenopause

Daily Menopause Diary

This diary is for women who have gone at least 12 months without a menstrual period
You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to read and print them. If you don't already have this program, you can download it for free

Type: 
Diary
Life Phase: 
Menopause

WHI, Five Years Later–WHY no Change

The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Estrogen plus Progestin (E plus P) trial was prematurely stopped because it caused harm (1). Until the Estrogen in women with hysterectomy arm (E only) of the WHI was also halted prematurely in 2004 (2), progestin was blamed for the lack of heart disease prevention. But now, five years later, doctors and media are still discussing Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and menopause as estrogen deficiency. The fundamental question is: Given these huge, great science WHI studies showing harm is caused by HRT, why has medicine not changed?

Type: 
Articles
Life Phase: 
Perimenopause, Menopause

Estrogen Deficiency: The Wrong Idea About Menopause

The largest and best-controlled trial testing whether hormone “replacement” therapy prevented heart disease was stopped three years early in July 2002. The Women’s Heath Initiative (WHI) study included over 16,600 healthy menopausal women without symptoms. These women were randomized to daily conjugated equine estrogen (Premarin, 0.625 mg) plus medroxyprogesterone (Provera, 2.5 mg) or an identical placebo. Hormone therapy increased breast cancer significantly (by 26% over placebo) and caused higher rates of heart attacks (29%), strokes (41%) and blood clots (211%). These risks outweighed this therapy’s significant benefits in preventing osteoporotic fractures of the hip (decreased by 34%) and colon cancer (decreased by 36%).
Since July 2002,hundreds of talk shows and editorials across North America have discussed these results. Many doctors and medical groups have offered criticisms. However, no one has yet identified what I believe is most important.

Type: 
Articles
Life Phase: 
Menopause

Pages

Estrogen’s Storm Season: Stories of Perimenopause

Estrogen's Storm Season

by Dr. Jerilynn C Prior

New second edition available

Estrogen’s Storm Season is now available in BOTH print and eBook (Mobi and ePUB) versions!

All royalties are recieved in our Endowment fund (overseen by UBC) and support CeMCOR's research and future.

It is full of lively, realistic stories with which women can relate and evidence-based, empowering perimenopause information. It was a finalist in 2006 for the Independent Publisher Book Award in Health.

Purchase your ebook copy via our Amazon Kindle or
Google Play storefronts!

Paperback copies (with updated insert) still available here.

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