If estrogen stimulates cell growth, what is the role of progesterone? Since estrogen and progesterone balance each other progesterone slows normal and abnormal cell growth.

Progesterone has been shown to decrease normal breast cell growth and to slow the growth of cancer cells in the breast and uterus. High dose progestin is used to treat uterine cancer in women that refuse surgery or who are not healthy enough to survive surgery.

Progesterone can slow cell growth even if the cells are exposed to estrogen. One study gave women estrogen cream and another group progesterone cream. The number of cells replicating in the estrogen group was 10 times more than in the progesterone group. What is more interesting is that if you add progesterone to the estrogen group, the cell growth returns to normal.

Another study done at Johns Hopkins Medical School revealed that women with progesterone deficiency were 5.4 times likely to have breast cancer prior to menopause. It seems that you must have an adequate amount of progesterone to balance your estrogen exposure in order to prevent estrogen stimulated cancers.

You may want to consider supplementing with natural progesterone while you try to change your diet and lifestyle to decrease your estrogen exposure.

Also, if you have breast cancer , progesterone can be used as hormone replacement to alleviate hot flashes. Studies have shown that natural progesterone applied to the skin will alleviate menopausal symptoms in 83 % of women. Estrogen is contraindicated in anyone who has breast cancer while progesterone is safe and does not increase a woman’s risk of recurrence of breast cancer.

Eldred B. Taylor, M.D.