The Estrogen Elixir: A History of Hormone Replacement Therapy in America

Contents

c o n t e n t s Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 1 Beginnings 10 2 From the ‘‘Neutral Gender’’ to ‘‘Feminine Forever’’ 32 3 Selling Estrogen to Doctors 52 4 Selling Estrogen to Women 69 5 From Hero to Villain: Estrogen and Endometrial Cancer 93 6 Enter the Feminists: Informing Women about Estrogen 109 7 Enter the FDA: A Patient Package Insert for Estrogen 132 8 Resurrecting Estrogen, I: Osteoporosis and Medical Science 148 9 Resurrecting Estrogen, II: Osteoporosis and American Culture 167 10 Skeptics and Believers: Varieties of Women’s Responses 187 11 Weighing the Benefits and Risks of HRT: Estrogen, Heart Disease, and Breast Cancer 205 12 1992: The Year of the Menopause 222 13 Meno-Boomers: Another Generation Confronts Estrogen 240 14 The ‘‘Gold Standard’’: Estrogen and the Randomized Controlled Trials 264 Notes 287 Index 341 This page intentionally left blank ...