Grrrrl, it's not the hot flashes that concern me nearly as much as the osteoporosis does.

I have known many a  reasonably healthy 80-something-year-old woman to break a hip in a minor fall and then die within days  because of the pneumonia that often sets in after a hip fracture.   Not to mention women so crippled from osteoporosis that they can't begin to stand up straight.

When you weigh the increased risk of cancer, heart attack, stroke, etc. from HRT it's important to consider the risks associated with loss of bone density that is part of "normal post-menopausal aging," too.

Personally, I want more information on other factors that may indicate who should and should not use HRT.

BTW, re turning to plant estrogens and other "natural" substitutes for HRT.  We don't have the same kind of long-term large scale studies on their effects.  Do we know that plant estrogens will NOT have the same risks that animal estrogens do? As Dr. Mark C. pointed out, they're still biologically active chemical compounds.

Genie