FDA is removing the 'black box' warning on hormone treatments for women in menopause

For years, Cathleen "Cat" Brown, a Philadelphia obstetrician and gynecologist, would listen to patients complaining of hot flashes, brain fog, and painful sex and prescribe estrogen as a safe option for easing their menopausal symptoms. But when the women read the drug label and pharmacy package insert, they'd recoil at a "black box" warning, Brown said. The bold, black-bordered alert warned women that estrogen may put them at higher risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and dementia.