Given a choice between cancer and pregnancy, I'll take my chances with cancer.

You have to know your cancer risks. If you carry certain genetic issues - you will endanger yourself by using hormone therapy.

However you can be tested for these now. In Breast Cancer think BRCA, HER2 and ER+. You can learn more here [cancer.org]

Sometimes regulating your cycle is the best defense against cancer. Testing and physician input is always required.

It is confusing to hear that both birth control and hormone replacement therapy can both cause and prevent cancer. The phrases more and less likely do not feel like any assurance that women safely can assume either one of these medications is without risk. I responded because my mom took hormone replacement late in life, and developed breast cancer (no incidence of that in our family). That cancer and the cancer treatment drugs caused her drastic problems, because at that time she also had Parkinson's. Before those two diseases, she had always been very healthy.

"We estimated that 135 cases of cancer were attributable to oral contraceptives ever use and that 328 cases of cancer were potentially prevented by the exposure, resulting in a net protective effect.

Ever use of hormone therapy was estimated to be associated with 271 newly diagnosed cancers, and it potentially prevented 48 cancers, thus increasing the overall cancer burden."

I don't see how synthetic hormones which the body naturally produces can cause cancer, or for that matter prevent it. I can see how it could contribute either one way or the other, but not cause, unless... there are substances in the synthetics that are not actually hormones identical to the natural ones.