Dr. Gabrielle Lyon — Blog

Menopause Hormone Therapy: The Myths, the Medicine, and the “Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me?” Moment

The article debunks long‑standing myths about menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) by highlighting how the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) trial was misapplied to all women. It explains that the WHI tested an older cohort using a specific estrogen‑progestin combo, leading to overstated risk headlines. Recent evidence, including the timing hypothesis and trials like ELITE, shows that initiating estrogen near menopause can improve cardiovascular health, bone density, and possibly cognition. The piece stresses that hormone therapy is a menu of tailored options—estrogen, progesterone, testosterone—each with distinct formulations, doses, and risk profiles.