By Edna Milay

A recent study demonstrates a proven way to lower breast cancer risk and occurrence by half.

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not, because a huge proportion of breast cancer cases can be traced to something women voluntarily do: take replacement hormones.

Women who took estrogen and progestin post-menopause to replace hormones doubled their risk for breast cancer. Even more dramatic, when they stopped taking hormones, their risk subsided within two years.

This is not to say that everyone taking hormones should drop them immediately. The risk increases with time, so short-term use is not likely to result in cancer.