I give up

  I just got back from visiting my mom's sister and her family on the east coast. We had a WONDERFUL time....except for my becoming menopausal and depressed about halfway through the visit. Crying on my aunt's shoulder was what I needed....hell, I'd do anything to have her here on this coast, but it wasn't very fun for her.
  I discussed my reluctance to taking HRT due to cancer running in our family. She pointed out to me that the members of my family who got cancer, smoked liked chimneys and drank like fish. Additionally, my mother's cervical cancer was probably brought on by the papilloma virus due to my mom's relaxed sexual tendencies, and my grandfather's colon cancer was due to his eating mostly red meat and little fiber and veggies. On my father's side, my uncle just died of lung cancer; again, he smoked until the very end.
  She pointed out that while I'm most likely well over the halfway mark of this phase in my life, I may still have 2-5 years to go. This said, how did I want the quality of my life to be? Even as the periods of time between bouts seem to be lengthening, this does not make the bouts, when they come, any easier.
  So I've made an appointment with my gyno to discuss my going on the lightest possible hormone replacement....because I want that last bout to be just that: my last bout.