41.   Typically, estrogen is taken with the hormone progestin.

42.   Women taking estrogen wondered if they had done the right thing.

43.   Women taking only estrogen after menopause may be increasing their risk of uterine cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

44.   Women who take estrogen are better educated, wealthier and more concerned about their health, all factors that are associated with less heart disease.

45.   Women are often reluctant to take supplementary estrogen after menopause because it has been associated with breast cancer.

46.   Women who take estrogen are likely taking other steps to avoid heart disease.

47.   Women should also get regular exercise and, at menopause, consider taking estrogen, which can protect against bone loss.

48.   Women who had a history of breast cancer or who were taking estrogen were excluded.

49.   But the effects of taking estrogen proved to be the same in each ethnic group.

50.   In the aftermath of these studies and others, some scientists are now recommending that many more post-menopausal women should begin taking estrogen.