The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women : Exploding the Estrogen Myth

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Summary: A Fascinating Book
Review: The Greatest Experiment is a fascinating book. It offers a valuable history of estrogen use from World War II to the present. Barbara Seaman, a well known science writer, has been following the estrogen story for years and was able to interview many of the major figures in the field. The story of how menopause came to be viewed as disease, how a dangerous drug was prescribed to women as a tonic for brittle bones, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease on the basis of circumstantial evidence is, indeed, compelling. The struggle to expose the side-effects of estrogen-derived birth control pills is also told. This led to Congressional hearings and forced drug companies to provide information on the side effects and dangers of birth control pills. The Greatest Experiment contains much more including the tragic story of the DES daughters (whose mothers received diethylstilbestrol, an estrogen derivative, to prevent miscarriages and gave birth to daughters who experienced life-long reproductive problems.) Also told is the troubling use of DES by farmers who still use it to fatten livestock. Finally, the book has an excellent Appendix on the options now available to women who seek treatment for symptoms of menopause.

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Summary: Read this important book!
Review: This book looks at why doctors have been prescribing estrogen to combat the effects of aging and menopause, and to prevent breast cancer, osteoporosis, and many other diseases. Seaman's painstaking research shows the role the pharmaceutical industry has played in driving the use and research of hormone replacement therapy. With one out of eight women likely to develop breast cancer, it never made any sense to me for women to take a drug that helps most breast tumors grow -- estrogen. And given the findings in recent health studies -- that estrogen causes more problems than it solves -- this book is a must read for everyone who wants to understand corporate America.

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Summary: Don't Experiment With Your Health - GET THIS BOOK & READ IT
Review: While suffering through a severe reaction to hormones, I struggled to find a single medical doctor who took seriously the lethal impact these 'commonplace' drugs can have. Barbara Seaman, however, truly understands the dangers of hormone use. Before you fill another prescrption for birth control, HRT, fertility drugs, or any other hormones (including OTC progesterone cream), please read everything you can get your hands on by Barbara Seaman! In this excellent, fascinating book, Ms. Seaman offers critically important information concerning hormones and their impact on the health and lives of women. What you read could (literally) save your life. Like me, you may end up begging all of your friends and family to read this book. I wish that I could get copies of it into the hands of as many people as possible.