Weird Barbie and tailoring HRT decisions

In this episode, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Corinne Menn to tackle one of the most common questions in women's health: "Can I take estrogen?" As a board-certified OB-GYN, certified menopause practitioner, and 24-year breast cancer survivor, Dr. Menn brings both professional expertise and lived experience to this conversation about who can take hormone therapy, who can't, and what's changed in recent years.

Dr. Menn's own story provides powerful context for this discussion. At just 28 years old, during her second year of medical residency, she discovered a lump in her breast just one week before learning her mother had recurrent ovarian cancer. Within days of her mother's sudden death, Dr. Menn received her own devastating diagnosis: breast cancer. What followed was a grueling journey through mastectomy, chemotherapy, and induced menopause while simultaneously completing one of medicine's most demanding training programs.

Throughout this conversation, Dr. Menn shares the profound gaps in survivorship care that she experienced firsthand and continues to witness in her patients today. The medical system, she explains, is focused on treating cancer but often fails to prepare women for the marathon of side effects that follow, particularly the devastating impact of estrogen deprivation on sexual health, mental health, bone density, and cardiovascular risk.

Guest links:

• Dr. Corinne Menn

• Dr. Corinne Menn (Instagram)

• Dr. Corinne Menn (Facebook)

• Dr. Corinne Menn (Alloy Health)

• Dr. Corinne Menn (LinkedIn)

• Dr. Corinne Menn (TikTok)

• Dr. Corinne Menn (YouTube)

• Dr. Corinne Menn (Substack)

• Dr. Corinne Menn (Young Survival Coalition)

Books

• “The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

• “You Are Not Broken: Stop ‘Should-ing’ All Over Your Sex Life,” by Dr. Kelly Casperson

This episode explores:

•Why family history of breast cancer is NOT a contraindication to HRT

•The truth about Factor V Leiden, fibroids, endometriosis, and migraines: what really excludes you from hormone therapy

•The concept of "weird Barbie" and why perfect candidates don't exist

•How the medical system is focused on treating cancer but often fails to prepare women for the marathon of side effects that follow, particularly the devastating impact of estrogen deprivation on sexual health, mental health, bone density, and cardiovascular risk

•How women with BRCA mutations (previvors) can protect themselves from ovarian cancer while managing hormone loss

•Why vaginal estrogen should be considered essential for breast cancer survivors

•The critical safety difference between oral and transdermal estrogen

•Non-hormonal options for managing hot flashes and night sweats

•Why one in eight women lose ovarian function before natural menopause

•The importance of updated genetic testing if you were tested before 2013-2014

•The profound gaps in survivorship care and why 89% of breast cancer survivors feel their menopausal care is inadequate

•How addressing menopausal symptoms helps women stay adherent to life-saving cancer treatments and maintain quality of life.

•What comprehensive, individualized care should look like for every woman

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