World Menopause Day: 4 hospitals offer free clinic

MANILA, Philippines - In celebration of World Menopause Day, at least four hospitals in Metro Manila will offer free lectures and clinics to hundreds of women, medical associations’ officials said on Saturday. In a press conference, incumbent Philippine Society of Climacteric Medicine (PSCM) president Dr. Eileen Manalo said free lectures on dealing with menopause and free pap smears and breast examinations will be offered at the Philippine General Hospital and Manila Doctors’ Hospital in Manila and at the Our Lady of Peace hospital in Paranaque from 8 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday. Free lectures and clinics will also be offered on a first-come first-serve basis on October 23 at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, said incoming PSCM president Dr. Joan Tan-Garcia. Similar programs will also be done in select hospitals nationwide, they added. During the press conference, the two doctors, along with former International Menopause Society executive committee member Dr. Delfin Tan explained the various ways menopausal women can cope with menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, insomnia, and vaginal and skin atrophy; in the later menopausal stage, graver health concerns arise such as Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular diseases, and osteoporosis. The most effective treatment, but one that has been maligned in the media in recent years, is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), said the medical experts. HRT relieves menopausal symptoms by replacing the hormones lost during menopause with estrogen for women without uteruses and both estrogen and progestin for those with intact uteruses, said the experts. HRT used to be patronized by millions of women worldwide, but a World Health Initiative (WHI) study in July 2002 raised fears that the treatment may carry more risks than benefits. The WHI study, which was funded by the United States National Institute of Health, said the combined drugs causes increased risks for breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. It said the risks outweigh the benefits, which include a decrease in hip fractures and in cases of colorectal cancer. The study caused HRT treatments to sink, particularly in the US, and has made women worldwide wary of undergoing the treatment. Tan assured, however, that the WHI study’s findings do not apply to all menopausal women, saying the subjects of the study was based on thousands of elderly American women over 60, with the average age being 63. Tan said HRT is beneficial for menopausal women who start undergoing the treatment early, with the ideal starting age at 50. “The response to HRT is completely different," said Tan. “[It is] beneficial for those who start early, but it’s bad [if you start] over 60." A 2005 study on 1028 menopausal women—200 of which are Filipino—from 11 Asian countries revealed that using HRT is highly beneficial to women, said Tan, adding that the mean age of women in the study was 53. “There is significant improvement in the quality of life," said Tan, adding that the women subjects showed reduced menopausal symptoms and reduced risks for cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis. For her part, Tan-Garcia added that HRT use can be continuous as long as the doctor and the patient decide, upon examination, that it remains a good treatment for the patient. “If you are doing fine, there is no limit [to HRT use]," said Tan-Garcia, adding that when the patient is beyond 60 the doctor should decide on a case-to-case basis. Mild menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes affect around 70 percent of menopausal women, said Manalo, although a smaller percentage suffer from the more severe symptoms such as urinary incontinence. The doctors said that good diet and exercise early on should be practiced early on to reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis that appear in the later menopausal stage. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV