What It Means to Be a Woman in Her Fifties
Being a woman in her fifties today is both liberating and confusing. I’m luckier than my mother — I have choices and freedoms she never had. But with choice comes complexity, and we now live in a world flooded with information, streaming at us from every platform, every hour of the day.
Falling Into the Podcast Rabbit Hole
During Covid, I stumbled into the world of podcasts — mostly about midlife, wellness, and longevity — and quickly became hooked. I sought out evidence-based, respected voices, only to discover contradictions everywhere. One expert would insist on one truth, and I’d think, yes, that makes sense. Then another would argue the opposite with equal conviction, and that made sense too.
When Evidence Isn’t Enough
Evidence-based should mean clarity, I thought. Instead, it often meant competing studies, hidden bias, uncertainty, and too many absolutes. What felt like a shortcut to the truth quickly became another maze to navigate.
Learning to Listen Differently
These days, I listen with more discretion and discernment. The voices I trust most are the ones that admit what we don’t know, while carefully weighing what we do. I remember Avrum Blooming, speaking about breast cancer and its relationship to oestrogen, saying simply: we don’t have all the answers. That struck me deeply. If he doesn’t have them, I certainly won’t.
The Oestrogen Question
What also stayed with me was his honesty about oestrogen itself. He doesn’t believe it causes breast cancer — and neither do I — but he openly admits he cannot explain why drugs like tamoxifen work for some women. Hearing that unsettled me and, strangely, reassured me at the same time. It reminded me that medicine is full of uncertainties, and that even the most respected experts are still searching for clarity.
Finding My Own Way
I will keep reading, listening, and learning — and from there, I make the best informed decisions I can. Decisions I feel good about, even without certainty.
Resources & Further Reading
If you’d like to dive deeper into some of the topics mentioned in this post, here are a few resources I’ve found helpful:
- 🎧 Podcasts
- Inside Information: Menopause, Midlife & More — Dr. Lauren Streicher
- The Peter Attia Drive — episodes on longevity and women’s health
- Hit Play Not Pause — focusing on active midlife women
- 📚 Books
- Blooming, A., & Tavris, C. (2018). Estrogen Matters.
- Streicher, L. (2021). Dr. Streicher’s Inside Information: The Menopause Book.
- 📄 Research & Articles
- Blooming, A., & Tavris, C. (2021). Hormone Therapy and Breast Cancer: The Unfinished Story. Climacteric, 24(1), 1–7.
- North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Position Statement on Hormone Therapy.
- NICE (2015, updated 2024). Menopause: Diagnosis and Management (NG23). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
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