Menopause Care, Misinformation, and Advocacy: Nurse Betsy Returns

Amy Pons welcomes back repeat guest Elizabeth “Nurse Betsy” Kelly, a board-certified adult geriatric primary care nurse practitioner with extensive ICU/ER experience, work with Doctors Without Borders in Ethiopia and Malawi, and 13 years serving nursing home patients at Sinai Chicago.

They discuss rapid changes in midlife women’s health education and access to menopausal hormone treatment, emphasizing that the 2002 WHI study was widely miscommunicated, fueling fear of breast cancer and leaving many boomer women without treatment. Betsy explains that starting menopausal hormone treatment within 10 years of the last period can be protective, that transdermal estrogen reduces clot risks compared with oral forms, and that care is individualized; she notes FDA-approved indi ...