Most women with a BRCA gene variation have been told some version of the same story: your hormones are dangerous, your ovaries are a ticking time bomb, and the safest path is to take them out early and stay away from estrogen for the rest of your life.

I understand why that story exists. The fear is real. The cancer risk is real. The decisions women have to make in their 30s and 40s are difficult.

But the more I read the actual science, the harder it is to hold that story without asking some more questions. Because the same estrogen women are told to fear may also be one of the things their cells use to fix themselves, and to keep their energy systems running.