Dec 23, 2021
Menopause and perimenopause shouldn’t be something you just power through, yet that’s the way that many women deal with their hormone or energy issues. There’s a better way, and it doesn’t involve being afraid of estrogen and hormone therapy. Dr. Shawn Tassone answers your questions on cancer, estrogen, hormones, and health, and talks about why the narrative matters in getting to the root cause of a patient’s problems.
- [3:05] Being a man in the arena of women's health gives him a different perspective. As the author of The Hormone Balance Bible, Shawn helps women transform their body and life during perimenopause and menopause.
- [4:10] Shawn found that if he could share stories of hormonal archetypes with his patients, it connects much better than just raw data. It gives women a starting point to get the information they are looking for and points them in the right direction to learn more.
- [5:50] Hormone issues can feel very isolating, like you’re not being acknowledged. Hearing the stories of other people and how it affected them is affirming.
- [6:20] If 10,000 men’s penises fell off tomorrow, there would be a national outrage and inquiry. But when hundreds of thousands of women are complaining of endometriosis, pelvic pain, or fibroids, they are told that it’s just what happens when they get older.
- [8:10] The more women physicians that experience the menopausal period of life the more natural options and reception that women will get in our culture.
- [8:45] Speak up and share what’s on your mind. There is always one next right step and the answer is never “come back next year and I’ll check again.” In the case of perimenopause and menopause, there is always a next right step for being healthier next year than you are now.
- [10:50] Half of Shawn’s patients bring labs from other physicians that say everything is normal. You can’t just look at the numbers. You have to look at the person and how they personally feel. The narrative part of your patient’s history matters.
- [12:10] Shawn tells the story of a mother run ragged trying to maintain and support her family and how the narrative of the saboteur helped her understand her situation. Women have a tendency to power through painful sex or exhaustion or stress.
- [15:40] Shawn’s mother passed away from ovarian cancer and that started his own journey to learn how hormones influenced the situation. Oncologist’s jobs are to help you live longer. They aren’t particularly interested in quality of life.
- [19:10] When it comes to cancer, it’s always important to try to identify the root cause whether it was a hormone disruptor or toxic exposure. With every single patient that Dr. Anna has seen with cancer, the issue was never their own natural production of hormones.
- [21:10] There are a number of factors when it comes to cancer. Shawn will typically do a genetic test to identify their individual risk as well as their genetic risk.
- [23:50] There is a clean way to do keto and a dirty way to do keto. The keto green diet has shown to have improvements on multiple health markers as quickly as two weeks in.
- [24:40] For women in menopause who’ve had cancer and have restrictions around estrogen, the treatment is piecemeal. If the issue is vaginal dryness, the recommendation is Julva. If it’s overall health, Shawn points them to a macha product or fish oils and magnesium.
- [28:10] It’s important for healthcare providers to communicate with each other. Dr. Anna had a patient that had been treated for breast cancer and had a Vitamin D hydroxy level of 11, where the optimal number is closer to 80. This was a major failure on the part of her healthcare team since Vitamin D is a key hormone player.
- [31:15] Estrogen is crucial in slowing bone loss while also maintaining brain, cardiovascular, and skin health. If your quality of life is impacted negatively because you’re afraid of hormones, you’re putting the cart in front of the horse.
- [33:05] There is a study that is ongoing that looks at the effect of hormones like estrogen on rates of cancer and it looks like there is no increased risk of breast cancer. The media has demonized estrogen to the detriment of both women and men.
- [34:10] Vitamin D doesn’t make you feel any different, but it is helpful for the long term. The silent factors like Vitamin D levels are often the most overlooked. The cancer we get from a lack of sun exposure is much worse than anything you can get from too much sun exposure.
- [35:30] Hormone imbalances can make you into an entirely different person. Fixing your hormones can have near immediate results where you feel considerably better over the course of a week. Add in vitamins and supplements which work over a long period of time and you have a solid protocol.
- [37:45] At one point, progesterone was only prescribed to protect against uterine cancer. Shawn likes and prescribes progesterone for a variety of reasons, whether or not the patient has a uterus.
Mentioned in this Episode:
512-956-0296
dranna.com/menopausemasterclass
youtube.com/thegirlfrienddoctor
Always seek the advice of your own physician or qualified health professional before starting any treatment or plans. Information found here and results are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional and are not intended as medical advice.