Season 2 - 4: Women's Health

Black women are less likely to survive endometrial cancer, which is one of the few gynecologic cancers whose mortality rate is increasing.

What does it mean to survive a diagnosis, and live with cancer?

When Jessica Baladad found a cancerous lump in her breast at 33 through a self-exam, it set her on a path not just to survive cancer but to become an advocate for women's health.

Why is the connection between hormones and migraines so poorly understood in women?

What does having dense breasts mean for your health?

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, or PMDD is a little-known and under-researched condition - a severe form of PMS.

Carolyn Thomas was having a heart attack when an emergency room doctor diagnosed her with acid reflux and sent her home.

The IUD - intrauterine device - is a contraceptive method that was originally created to be a tool for population control.

What are the origins of HRT and estrogen therapy? Historian Alison Li takes us back to 1930s Canada, and the ‘endocrine gold rush’, when estrogen was extracted from hogs, then human placentas, and finally horses - to create the drug Premarin (the name comes from PREgnant MAre urINE). The making and ...

When journalist Alicia Trujillo felt a sudden, searing headache while swimming, she knew something was wrong. Doctors finally uncovered the cause a few days later - a ruptured aneurysm in her brain. In this episode, Alicia recounts the harrowing days leading up to her diagnosis, the emergency brain ...

Cervical cancer is preventable, but nobody really likes showing up at the gynecologist’s office to get their screening done - which is likely the reason the number of women who show up for screening has been falling. Now, a DIY screening kit will allow you to do the test at home. Dr Anita Lim is a c...

Despite all the noise about menopause (and there’s a lot), there’s one place where we’re still not talking about it openly, and that’s the workplace. But that’s changing - slowly. Now, some companies are offering menopause benefits too. In this episode, we look at menopause in the workplace, and hea...

Earlier this year, the CDC updated its recommendations on pain management for IUD insertion (intrauterine devices used for birth control), which prompted Carine Carmy to share her story of how an IUD insertion sent her to the emergency room with severe pain, nausea, chills and a fever. She talks abo...

Claire Tomkins found out she had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in her early fifties, while going through perimenopause. When it comes to ADHD, women are generally under-diagnosed, and Claire talks about how this late diagnosis helped her understand her own actions and decisions, an...

When Pamela Esposito-Amery discovered she had a genetic predisposition to cancer, she took a decision to undergo a full hysterectomy - which also put her in ‘surgical’ menopause. Pamela talks about the physical and emotional impact of this life-changing procedure, as well as the work of her organiza...

How do you bring women’s health innovation to life when the healthcare system is set up to resist change? In this episode, Nicole Sandford, CEO of Aspira Women’s Health, shares the hurdles her company faces in pushing forward diagnostics for ovarian cancer. As a cancer survivor, she also reflects on...

In this episode, host Golda Arthur speaks with Lucy Rudd, a biomedical scientist from the UK, who shares her powerful story of discovering a borderline ovarian tumor at just 28 years old. What began as a small lump quickly spiraled into a period of intense uncertainty, fear, and difficult decisions ...

Episode Description: What’s the difference between menopause and perimenopause anyway? Is there such a thing as menopause misinformation? Why don’t we know more about menopause and HRT? Dr. Gillian Goddard, an endocrinologist and writer behind the Hot Flash newsletter, answers these and other import...