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Did she really say that estrogen doesn't cause breast cancer? Yes. I did. And I stand by it. I know that might feel shocking — maybe even alarming — given what most of us have been told for the past two decades. But the science tells a different story than the headlines did in 2002, and it's time we talked about it. Buckle up, because this gets technical. First, Let's Go Back to 2002 The belief that estrogen in menopausal hormone therapy causes breast cancer traces back to a

Learn 5 ways to protect your brain through menopause and beyond.

"When your heart says 'love' but your hormones say 'pause'!" Here's something that might surprise you: heart disease kills more women in the United States than anything else. According to the CDC, it claims the lives of 1 in 3 women every year. And yet, so many women still think of it as a man's problem. There's a reason for that. Men tend to develop cardiovascular disease about a decade earlier than women, so the research, the public awareness campaigns, even the textbook de

If you're a woman in midlife and you've ever walked into a room and immediately forgotten why you went there, struggled to find the right word mid-sentence, or felt like you were thinking through a fog, I promise you - you are not losing your mind! You're experiencing a very real, very physiological shift in the way your brain works. As a physician who specializes in perimenopause and menopause, I want to explain what's actually going on in your brain during this transition —

Learn about signs and symptoms of sleep apnea

It’s October, which means you can’t get through this month without seeing a pink ribbon or hearing about breast cancer awareness. So, naturally, it’s time to address breast cancer screening. When to Start Most guidelines recommend starting mammograms at age 40 , then repeating every year or every other year  for women at average risk. If you have a family history or other risk factors, ask your doctor when to start screening. Some organizations say every other year is fine, b

Before we get into this…if you haven’t read my blog Hormone Therapy: How Did We Get Here , check that out first. TLDR – the hormones taken by women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative were predominantly oral (pills) synthetic hormones. The headlines that came out of it basically said hormones are bad. We now know better.  Enter the bioidentical hormone era. After the WHI instilled fear in women, bioidentical hormones were presented as a safer option. Let’s be clear abou

If you’ve turned on the TV, opened social media, or chatted with anyone about health lately, chances are you’ve heard about GLP-1 medications.  Everyone talks about Ozempic, but these also include Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound. All the influencers, personal trainers, your coworkers, and maybe even your neighbor seem to have an opinion. I get asked all the time what I think about them. Let’s unpack it together. Before we delve into GLP-1 talk, think about this…When someone has

What's the back story on hormone replacement therapy? When it comes to menopause and hormones, few topics have been as misunderstood—or...

Chronic constipation? Maybe it's not IBS. If you’ve been diagnosed with chronic constipation due to IBS or told to “just eat more fiber”...

If you’ve ever been told you can’t take estrogen because of the risk of blood clots, you’re not alone. This warning traces back to the...

Vaginal dryness, pain, or UTIs after menopause? Learn about genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) and how to treat it safely and effectively.

As an internal medicine physician and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, I help women navigate the ups and downs of perimenopause...

Did you know that September is National Cholesterol Education Month? Yeah, I didn’t either. Let’s just say that my Instagram feed is...

Let’s start with some basic definitions first.  Premenopause  - The time between the first period and sometime in your late 30s or 40s...

You may be wondering how I got here.  When I was practicing as a primary care physician, I saw too many people dismissed or told their...