Category Archives: Hormone Replacement Therapy

Menopause happens due to a natural decline in reproductive hormones when a woman reaches her 40s or 50s and leads to hormonal and biological changes in the body including weight gain and hot flashes. The symptoms of menopause are commonly treated through hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which helps balance the hormonal levels in menopausal women.

During menopause, the ovaries make less estrogen and more progesterone which are hormones that control the monthly cycle. These hormones affect the heart, bones and vagina and the process of replacing them with the lab-made versions is called hormone replacement therapy. It helps provide relief from hot flashes and sweating, aids better sleep and reduces vaginal dryness and itching. The therapy also reduces the risk of heart diseases, osteoporosis and dementia among women.

According to Breastcancer.org, women who have undergone HRT are at an increased risk of breast cancer. There are two types of HRT- Estrogen HRT containing only estrogen and Combination HRT combining estrogen and progesterone and both have different effects on breast cancer. Though both types of therapy (estrogen and progesterone combined and estrogen alone) increase the risk of breast cancer, the risk is higher in case of combined therapy.

According to a Lancet Study, findings on breast cancer risk associated with HRT highlight that, the risk of developing the disease is twice as much in those who have undergone HRT therapies for 5-14 years as compared to those below 5 years.

So, what are the precautionary measures one should take in such a condition?

1. While opting for HRT, it is also critical to assess the risk of breast cancer through medical consultation for altering the dosage or duration of the therapy basis the risk.

2. Factors such as individual characteristics, risk factors, and severity of menopause symptoms, should be considered while weighing the pros and cons of HRT.

3. Patients diagnosed with breast cancer or having tested positive with an abnormal breast cancer gene should not opt for HRT because they can cause them to develop and grow.

4. For those who cannot undergo HRT, non-hormonal alternatives such as dietary changes, exercise, weight management, acupuncture or meditation can work for relieving symptoms of menopause.

Lifestyle changes

Apart from those who have undergone HRT and are at greater risk of breast cancer, all women should take care of their health through lifestyle alterations for reducing risk of breast cancer by:

* Consuming a healthy and balanced diet

* Engaging in adequate physical exercise

* Keeping your weight in control

* Limiting smoking and consumption of alcohol

* Avoiding exposure to radiation such as CT

* Avoiding environmental pollution

* Hormonal contraception including birth control pills can increase the risk of breast cancer and one must be careful while taking them

(Author Dr Rajeev Agarwal is Director, Cancer Institute, Medanta Hospitals)

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Hormone Replacement Therapy Used for Menopause can be Linked to Increased Breast Cancer Risk - News18

Oct 31, 2019 10:53 AM EDT

Libido is the jargon for sex drive.The natural sex drive varies from individual to individual. Having a low sex drive is not a medical or psychological problem. As mentioned, it varies with each person. However, if you wish to increase your libido, there are numerous pills in the market. The backside of this method is the long list of side-effects in using those pills from heart diseases to eye-related problems. To avoid this, it is best to naturally boost your libido.

Sex drive is deeply linked with your mental health. A stressed or anxious individual might not be able to have an active personal life. A high level of anxiety is the most common cause of lower sex drive in many. According to a general review conducted in 2017, young men have mentioned anxiety and depression as their causes of the problem. There could be numerous reasons for those mental health problems. Starting from taking therapies to having a hobby, there is a number of methods to deal with your mental health.

Just like mental health, certain physical health can also cause loss of sex drive. Many diseases, which affect hormone levels can cause reduced libido. In such a situation, dealing with those hormone problems would automatically improve your libido. In certain cases, hormone replacement therapy or hormone treatmentswill be usefulin the long run rather than pills. Talk to your doctor immediately instead of going for some online hormone pills or supplements.

Your sexual desire is deeply connected with the intimacy of your relationship. You would need an intimate relationship to get the desire. It is common to have a lesser drive in relationships that last for a very long time. In such cases, it is best to increase intimacy and rekindle love. Plan date nights, spend quality time together, take a vacation and so on. If required, there are couples' therapists who can help you out in this process.

Goodnight sleep is very essential for energy and mood. In the same manner, good sleep can also lead to better libido. Just a night of disturbed sleep would not cause any tremendous effect on your libido. However, if you are having disturbed sleep for a long time, you might be suffering from insomnia.

Insomnia is not just about lack of sleep. It can cause many related problems like weight change, depression, chronic fatigue, reduced concentration and so on. If you have insomnia, take natural solutions to solve the problem by reducing caffeine content, having a sleep cycle, keeping active throughout the day and so on. If depression, phobia, anxiety or other mental problem is the root cause for insomnia, talk to your therapist immediately.

Do you know that libido is not just a mood-related effect? Hormones secreted by your body plays an important role in your sex-drive. Many food items can cause serious effects on hormone levels. The best way to improve libido is by reducing bad cholesterol for your diet. You need a diet, which is rich in vegetables, lean protein, and good fat. Reduce sugar and carbohydrates. Starving can reduce your libido tremendously. Dieting is not starving. You should eat the required amount of food to keep you full and at the same time, you should have a balanced diet.

There are numerous supplements, which are promoted to increase your libido. However, it is always best to go with herbal sources before you choose chemical-riddled supplements. No matter how expensive the supplement might be, there would be additive chemicals and preservatives, which can cause other problems.According to a studyconducted in 2015, a few herbal products and spices are known to improve libido and are used since ancient civilization for this purpose. Top herbal items are ginseng, Tribulus, mac, gingko, and others.

Lower sex drive is caused due to reduced body confidence, diabetes-related problems and so on. All these roots from not having a healthy weight. Being skinny thin is not recommended. You need to keep your weight within therecommended BMI limit. There are numerous hormone and lifestyle-related issues, which lead to abnormal weight. Have a regular exercise schedule, maintain a balanced diet and take proper medical care for any underlying problems to reduce weight.

Heavy smoking and drinking can alter energy levels and reduce sex drive. Moderate alcohol consumption will not affect your libido but, smoking can have a tremendous negative effect. Smoking is also linked with insomnia and other problems. Try reducing your cigarette and alcohol consumption. If required, join therapies or any other recreational programs to keep you away from these habits.

In certain cases, some medicines that you consume can reduce your libido considerably. It might be a side effect that is caused by those medicines. If you are consuming any life-saving medications, it is best to not avoid medicine. However, this low sex drive is temporary and you would regain it after stopping the medicine.

2018 NatureWorldNews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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How to Naturally Boost Libido Instead of Pills - Nature World News

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBYI) announced that its licensing partner in Greater China, CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc., has received registration approval from the Department of Health in Hong Kong to market NERLYNX (neratinib) for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage hormone receptor positive HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer and who have completed adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy less than one year ago.

The rapid and smooth advancement of NERLYNX through the Hong Kong regulatory process to market approval is a testament to the quality of our regulatory expertise, and the CANbridge commitment to bring new treatments to underserved patient populations in greater China, said James Xue, PhD, Founder, Chairman and CEO, CANbridge Pharmaceuticals. With this first targeted therapy approved in our oncology platform, CANbridge is able to provide women in Hong Kong, with HER2-positive breast cancer at risk of recurrence, a new and vital treatment option shortly after approval in the West.

Alan H. Auerbach, Puma Biotechnologys Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, added, This registration approval through our partnership with CANbridge represents an important market entry for us as we execute on our global commercial strategy. CANbridge has the commercial infrastructure and resources to provide NERLYNX to patients in the region.

About HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Approximately 20 to 25 percent of breast cancer tumors over-express the HER2 protein. HER2-positive breast cancer is often more aggressive than other types of breast cancer, increasing the risk of disease progression and death. Although research has shown that trastuzumab can reduce the risk of early stage HER2-positive breast cancer returning after surgery, up to 25% of patients treated with trastuzumab experience recurrence.

About CANbridge Pharmaceuticals

CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a China-based biopharmaceutical company accelerating development and commercialization of specialty healthcare products for orphan diseases and targeted cancers, focusing on products that are unavailable or address medical needs that are underserved in the region. CANbridge has been widely recognized as a leader in orphan diseases in China. It has a global partnership with WuXi Biologics to develop and commercialize proprietary therapeutics for the treatment of rare genetic diseases. In addition, it has an exclusive licensing agreement to commercialize Hunterase, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of Hunter syndrome, developed by GC Pharma and marketed in more than ten countries worldwide. CANbridge also has an oncology portfolio, which includes exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Puma Biotechnologys NERLYNX (neratinib), approved in the United States, and rights to other novel candidates.

About Puma Biotechnology

Puma Biotechnology, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a focus on the development and commercialization of innovative products to enhance cancer care. Puma in-licenses the global development and commercialization rights to PB272 (neratinib, oral), PB272 (neratinib, intravenous) and PB357. Neratinib, oral was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2017 for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer, following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy, and is marketed in the United States as NERLYNX (neratinib) tablets. NERLYNX was granted marketing authorization by the European Commission in August 2018 for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage hormone receptor-positive HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer and who are less than one year from completion of prior adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. NERLYNX is a registered trademark of Puma Biotechnology, Inc.

Further information about Puma Biotechnology may be found at http://www.pumabiotechnology.com.

Important Safety Information Regarding NERLYNX (neratinib) U.S. Indication

NERLYNX (neratinib) tablets, for oral use

INDICATIONS AND USAGE: NERLYNX is a kinase inhibitor indicated for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with HER2 overexpressed/amplified breast cancer, to follow adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy.

CONTRAINDICATIONS: None

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS:

ADVERSE REACTIONS: The most common adverse reactions ( 5%) were diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, vomiting, rash, stomatitis, decreased appetite, muscle spasms, dyspepsia, AST or ALT increase, nail disorder, dry skin, abdominal distention, weight decreased and urinary tract infection.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Puma Biotechnology, Inc. at 1-844-NERLYNX (1-844-637-5969) and http://www.NERLYNX.com or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or http://www.fda.gov/medwatch.

DRUG INTERACTIONS:

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS:

Please see Full Prescribing Information for additional safety information.

The recommended dose of NERLYNX is 240 mg (six 40 mg tablets) given orally once daily with food, continuously for one year. Antidiarrheal prophylaxis should be initiated with the first dose of NERLYNX and continued during the first 2 months (56 days) of treatment and as needed thereafter.

To help ensure patients have access to NERLYNX, Puma has implemented the Puma Patient Lynx support program to assist patients and healthcare providers with reimbursement support and referrals to resources that can help with financial assistance. More information on the Puma Patient Lynx program can be found at http://www.NERLYNX.com or 1-855-816-5421.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the worldwide expansion of NERLYNX. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Pumas actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and actual outcomes and results could differ materially from these statements due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, the risk factors disclosed in the periodic and current reports filed by Puma with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including Pumas Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Puma assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

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Puma Biotechnology Licensing Partner CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Receives Registration Approval in Hong Kong for NERLYNX (neratinib) for Extended...

With her glowing complexion and enviable figure, Carol Vorderman is as stunning now as she was when she first found fame on Channel 4's Countdown in 1982.

Filling in for Lorraine Kelly on her ITV show today, fans were in awe of her smooth visage, with many asking what her secret is.

And the star - who will present the The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards tonight on ITV at 8pm - previously revealed she's a big fan of treatments such as plasma showers, which used ionised gas to strip bacteria from the skin and encourage the growth of new cells.

She hasn't been under the knife but does have botox injections once a year in her neck and around her eyes.

She also has derma roller treatment, whereby micro-needles are rolled across the skin to stimulate collagen.

She also tackles her looks from the inside out, taking vitamins A and D, omega 3, fish oils, calcium, pro-biotics and cider vinegar.

"And I eat well. I cut down on sugar and cut down on carbs long before it became fashionable, and most of the week I drink very little alcohol. Your tolerance goes down after the menopause. Two glasses of wine and I feel it the next day. But I do love to party!" she told the Daily Mail.

Then there's that sensational figure.

To maintain her 25-inch waist, Carol - who hasn't weighed herself since 1999 - does a staggering 15,000 steps a day and hikes more than 50 miles a week.

She also hits the gym three days out of seven and does three open-air circuit training sessions.

"Im probably about a size 8 to 9 at the moment. Ive always had a small waist, I think Im about 25 inches around my waist. If I put on a bit of weight, I know I have, and I go up to a size 11," she recently told Lorraine.

"A larger size 10, thats kind of my boundary for where Im happy."

As for her award-winning bottom - which won Rear of the Year in 2011 and 2014 and earned her Kim Kardashian comparisons - that, too, is hard-earned.

"I promise I havent had bottom implants. Its the same old bottom. In my family, loads of us have it: the Vorderman a**e... And Ive been working out for decades, so the shape of mine is down to years of keeping fit," she told the Daily Mail.

To achieve her look, she does 20,000 squats a year and is a huge fan of 'goblet squats' with a kettle bell.

Carol started using hormone replacement therapy three years ago and believes that has also changed the shape of her body, increasing her bust from a size 36 to a 38D.

"I think your bust does grow with hormonal changes. And we all know you put on weight when your bust grows. You have babies; it grows. Then you go through the menopause - I had my last period about a year ago - and it grows a bit more," she added.

* Watch the Daily Mirror's Pride Of Britain Awards now on the ITV Hub

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Secrets of Pride of Britain Carol Vorderman's ageless beauty and that 25-inch waist - Irish Mirror

Future Market Insights has recently published a report titledAnti-Osteoporosis Therapy and Fracture Healing Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012 2017) and Opportunity Assessment (2018 2026).The report states that despite the uncertainty in terms of political and economic scenario, the global healthcare industry is expected to receive a positive push from sectors such as medical imaging, in-vitro diagnostics, biotech and pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Key markets across the world are facing an enormous rise in demand for critical care services that are pushing global healthcare spending levels to unimaginable limits. A speedily multiplying geriatric population, growing prevalence of chronic ailments such as cancer and cardiac disease, rising awareness among patients and high investments in clinical innovation are a few of the factors that are impacting the performance of the global healthcare industry at present. As a result of these factors, the globalanti-osteoporosis therapy and fracture healing marketis expected to witness a CAGR of 5.0% between 2018 and 2026.

Growing Geriatric Population to Augur Adoption

Rising prevalence of osteoporosis is considered to be an important factor driving the global market, as the growing number of patients will also increase the demand for drugs and therapy. Furthermore, due to the absence of any substitutes such as surgery, demand for osteoporosis drugs is increasing constantly. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, almost 50% of the global bone fracture incidences would occur in the Asia Pacific region by 2050 end. A high occurrence and incidence rate of the disease is considered an important driver for the market. Furthermore, rising geriatric population is considered to be an important factor for the growth of the market in the coming years, although patent expiries of leading brands would considerably slow down the growth rate.

Download sample copy of this report:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/REP-GB-1008

Bisphosphonates to Lead Among Drug Types

The global anti-osteoporosis therapy and fracture healing market has been segmented on the basis of drug type into bisphosphonates, calcitonin, estrogen or hormone replacement therapy, biologics, and anabolics. Among these, bisphosphonates is expected to emerge dominant by the end of 2026 with a valuation of around US$ 5,941 Mn in the same year.

Download Methodology :https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1008

Companies to Fight for Patent Rights

Leading companies in the market are competing against each other to gain patent rights on the different novel drugs that are being introduced in the market. This is further expected to intensify competition in the global market in the long run. Some of the companies operating in the global anti-osteoporosis therapy and fracture healing market are Novartis, Johnson and Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Roche, Pfizer, MERCK, and AMGEN, among others.

For more detailed information and insights on the global anti-osteoporosis therapy and fracture healing market, contact Future Market Insights analysts at[emailprotected]

Buy this report @:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/1008

Original post:
Anti-Osteoporosis Therapy and Fracture Healing Market to Record CAGR of 5% Rise in Growth by 2026 - Maxi Wire

Then came another blow. Ms Beatriz was diagnosed as being among the 10 percent of Australian women experiencing early menopause.

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My first reaction was to cry because having kids was something that I had wanted forever and I felt such grief about it," Ms Beatriz, now 28, said. "I felt very alone. I was going through something nobody else in my friendship group had experienced."

Menopause before the age 45 is referred to as "early menopause". Onset can be spontaneous and sometimes unexplained. For about five per cent of women the cause remains unknown.

The isolation experienced by these women can be profound, says Monash University endocrinologist Associate Professor Amanda Vincent, and there is a lack of credible and high-quality information available.

This prompted researchers at Monash University and RMIT to collaborate on a digital platform that shares the stories of 30 women, aged between 28 and 51, who have experienced early menopause.

The Healthtalk Australia website, to be launched on Monday, also includes support services for women and information for health professionals about diagnosing the condition, including symptoms, treatments and long-term effects.

"Early menopause can lead to infertility, psychological distress and increased risks of bone and heart disease. It can also be a very lonely," Associate Professor Vincent said. "It can impact on their feeling of feminity and women affected have told us heartbreaking stories about their experiences."

Associate Professor Vincent said the website would also aim to spark conversations about early menopause.

About 25 per cent of women with breast cancer, uterine or ovarian cancer are pre-menopausal at diagnosis and it is believed there are more women experiencing early menopause due to higher cancer survivalrates.

"The whole experience of 'I am not alone, other women gone through this' can be really helpful for women going through this transition," Associate Professor Vincent said.

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Ms Beatriz's boyfriend at the time of her diagnosis broke up with her after finding out she would not be able to conceive.

She later lost two jobs as she struggled to control her often debilitating symptoms and the side effects of using different doses of hormone replacement therapiesto regulate her body.

"The hardest part was feeling like nobody understood what I was going through," Ms Beatriz said.

Menopausal hormone therapyis currently the most effective type of treatment available for perimenopause symptoms, with more than 300,000 Australian women using it.

But it is not without controversy. Studies have linked it to a slightly increased risk of developing cancer in women who have gone through menopause at the expected age.

Dr Elizabeth Farrell, a gynaecologist and medical director of Jean Hailes for Women's Health, said hormone therapy was critical for women experiencing premature menopause as it helped reduce the heightened risk of developing conditions including cardiovascular disease, heart disease and osteoporosis.

"These women, for their blood vessels, bones and general well-being, need reasonably high doses of [hormone] therapy because that's what their bodies would normally have," Dr Farrell said. "We need to normalise their bodies to protect them until they reach the expected age of menopause."

Dr Farrell said research suggested young women using hormone therapy have about the same chance of developing breast or ovarian cancer as women the same age who are not using it and still menstruating.

Melissa Cunningham is The Age's health reporter.

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'My first reaction was to cry': Lorena showed signs of menopause at 25 - Sydney Morning Herald

OCTOBER 26, 2019

WHEN YA PUBLISHER Houghton Mifflin Harcourt put out Ariel Schrags Adam in 2014, it felt predetermined that this debut novel would eventually become a movie. Indeed, the promotional materials included a trailer for an imagined film, a digital elevator pitch. Moreover, as a preexisting YA property, the story had a potentially lucrative built-in audience, which is still necessary for many LGBTQ-themed features in the current film marketplace. The 2019 film adaptation of Adam is backed by major independent producer James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain) and directed by trans man Rhys Ernst (Transparent and the web series Weve Been Around), with Schrag, a cis lesbian, writing the screenplay.

But the basic story of Adam a cisgender white teenage boy poses as a trans man because an older cis lesbian he has a crush on mistakes him for one has been controversial since its inception. Suffice it to say that Adam has had a complicated relationship with the LGBTQ community because of this problematic masquerade and consequent erasure of trans masculinity. While there are trans male characters in Adam, they appear on the margins, remaining oblique rather than being front and center.

The tale is set in 2006, a significant time for the LGBTQ community in terms of media visibility. At the time, Schrag was writing for Showtimes The L Word, then in its third season and with a growing audience. Viewers of the show will remember that third season as the introduction of Max, a trans male character. Adam (the book and film) features a viewing party for The L Word, with the characters watching a scene where Max is confronted about his trans identity. The trans men at this viewing party call out the most glaringly unrealistic aspects, such as the fact that Max, only just starting hormone replacement therapy, has practically overnight grown beard scruff all over his face. The scene distills the media representation of trans masculinity at a specific moment in time. Max was more a prism for ripped-from-the-headlines trans themes than an actual character, spending the final season of The L Word pregnant and miserable, in a subplot clearly inspired by Thomas Beaties international notoriety as the pregnant man. The character today still provokes viewer animosity.

It is notable that this viewing party, while critical of the representation of Maxs physical transition, is unrealistically silent over the way Max is confronted on the show as a gender traitor. None of the queer characters at the viewing party is critical of this incendiary claim; instead, they prefer to joke about which characters on the show will sleep together next. For all Schrags efforts, in both The L Word and Adam, to create a space where the relationships of queer women and trans men can be explored, there are obvious limits to her imagination, which tends toward tabloid-style exploitation rather than empathetic investigation.

In a 2014 interview with The Rumpus, Schrag revealed that her books genesis was connected to Max and The L Word, with the shows lone cis male writer, Adam Rapp, being her unofficial muse. Schrag recalls that they

were doing the Max story line, and I started to have this fantasy that Adam Rapp would go out to clubs and pretend to be a trans man in order to gather fodder for this lesbian TV show, and the more I thought about it I thought thats hilarious and weird and fascinating. I became fascinated by this idea of a cisgender man passing as a trans man, especially because we were working on this story about a trans man trying to pass as a cis man.

Schrag wanted to create a story in which a teenage boy in a queer femme space would be confused for a trans man because this was an inverse of something that happens a lot to trans men in cisheteronormative spaces (and even queer spaces). It is true that being on hormone replacement therapy and going through a kind of second puberty can lead to many kinds of misunderstandings in trans presentation, all of which can be potentially comical. Unfortunately, Adams simplistic premise, by obscuring actual trans identity, produces little more than a shallow sex farce in which the historically complex relationships between butch lesbians and trans men in these queer spaces barely registers. Moreover, the experience of romance and sex with a trans masculine body is merely suggested, largely deployed for titillation, and undisturbed by any reality since Adam does not actually have such a body.

In fact, Adams ability to pass as trans is pretty dubious. Nobody suspects that he is faking it, and the consequences of being outed are, all things considered, nonexistent. Adam may not get the girl in the end, but his punishment is merely an education: to learn how to play his role, he is shown reading J. Halberstams Female Masculinity and watching a montage of trans masc YouTubers talking about their experiences. Adam absorbs all of this like a college student cramming for an upcoming exam, which he will pass by regurgitating the bullet points he has absorbed from studying actual trans men.

As director, Ernst presents these scenes earnestly, but what Adam is doing here is pretty insidious. The internet has long been a space where trans people can share their experiences in beneficial and potentially life-saving ways. By contrast, Adam uses it to cultivate his fraud, like a cynical catfisher who constructs fake identities in order to exploit unwitting strangers. Being an innocent, dumb teenager, his straight white male privilege gives him an all-too-easy out.

The essential vacuousness of Schrags and Ernsts treatment can be seen in their depiction of an actual trans character, Ethan. Introduced on Craigslist as the mystery man who lives with Adams sister and her on-again-off-again girlfriend, Ethan is a cool-headed, rather solitary figure who works at a movie theater. Ethan befriends Adam, who is at first unaware of his friends trans identity, despite seeing him in just a towel. While this cluelessness could be used to explore the complexity of trans visibility, the story takes an easier route, and Ethan becomes its most frustrating gambit. How Ethan relates to his body, his relationship with queer spaces, how he connects to masculine images, how he relates to other trans men, what gender dysphoria means to him all this exists as untapped story potential. Lacking any obvious flaws or complications, Ethan is a character so absent of nuance that he is one-dimensional, a simple foil for Adams masquerade. The other trans male characters in the story are equally one-note sounding boards.

Schrag uses trans masculinity as a Trojan Horse that allows a straight cis white boy to have eye-opening experiences of queer sexuality and gender fluidity. Given the storys fundamental lack of interest in actual trans people, it is depressing that the novel and film have been embraced in some quarters for what amounts to the crumbs of representation they offer. As transness gains real visibility in the media, Adam comes across at best as an inadvertent revelation of how, in the end, Ethans story would make a far more interesting movie than the title characters. But the promise of that story being fully realized relies on ambitious and serious artists receiving the kinds of platforms and exposure afforded to Schrag and Ernst.

Caden Mark Gardner is a freelance writer from Schenectady, New York. He is working as a co-author on an upcoming book on transgender cinema calledCorpses, Fools, and Monsters: An Examination of Transgender Cinema.

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The Trouble with Adam - lareviewofbooks

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States. Breast cancer is a common, deadly, and aggressive disease that can develop in any individual regardless of sex or age, not just menopausal cisgender women.

According to the Mayo Clinic, breast cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in designated females in the US. Breastcancer.org reports that 1 in 8 designated females will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, as opposed to approximately 1 in 1000 designated males.

While deaths from breast cancer have decreased in the last 50 years, around 42,000 designated females are expected to die as a result of breast cancer by the end of 2019. Breast cancer has the highest mortality rate of any cancer in the US for designated females aside from lung cancer.

The 15-40 Connection is an advocacy group for young people who are diagnosed with cancer and focuses on spreading information for early detection. They report that cancer survival rates for people aged 15 to 40 have lagged significantly behind those of older individuals, and state that this can be attributed to low rates of diagnosis.

The Young Survival Coalition reports that more than 250,000 designated females who are living with breast cancer were diagnosed before 40, but stresses that diagnoses before 40 are difficult as there are no effective diagnostic procedures for younger designated females due to the denser breast tissue.

Frustratingly, breast cancer in designated females below 40 tends to be more aggressive; this, coupled with difficulty producing accurate diagnoses, results in a drastically lower survival rate for young breast cancer patients and a higher rate of metastasis.

The youngest known case of breast cancer was 8-year-old Chrissy Turner, who underwent a full mastectomy in her undeveloped right breast in November 2015. Her only symptom was a painful lump on her chest.

Extensive research has not been done on the occurrence of breast cancer in transgender men and nonbinary designated femalaes. Aside from a Dutch study on trans men who elected hormone replacement therapy, the majority of data on transgender individuals is available is from case studies and reports of diagnoses and treatments, Laurie Ray at Clue reports. The Dutch study found breast cancer to present in trans men at roughly the same percentage as cis men, but retrospective studies of trans patients in the US suggest that artificial androgens used for transitioning might promote the development of breast cancer. Regardless of the effects of different transitional procedures, it is crucial to understand that gender identity does not play a role in the expression of breast cancer.

Every individual must be aware of their physical health regardless of age, sex, or gender. In Amarillo, breast diagnostic and treatment procedures are typically performed at the BSA Harrington Breast Center, which provides a program for individuals who are at a higher risk of developing cancer. Additionally, WT is host to a branch of Zeta Tau Alpha womens fraternity, which boasts a breast cancer foundation in addition to their fraternity philanthropy program being breast cancer awareness. Further information about treatment, testing, and risk factors can be found at either link.

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Breast cancer awareness is for everyone - The Prairie

When the doctor walked in and immediately asked me about my prostate during an appointment I'd made about an issue entirely unrelated to my gender, I knew things werent going to go well.

I dont have any reproductive organs, I answered.

He fumbled with his clipboard. Oh.

We tried to recover a neutral mood in the room, but the visit remained tense and awkward. I couldnt feel fully comfortable with him.

Trans patients face polar struggles in seeking medical treatment: We need doctors to diagnose us with gender dysphoria in order to receive trans-related treatments that align us with who we are, while general practitioners express total ignorance of our basic health needs and mishandle our gender identities and bodies instead. Close medical scrutiny, which is supremely important in making effective individualized care possible, is still taxing, complex, and draining to navigate.

I am a trans boy with chronic back and neck pain that has worsened over time. After my ability to drive to and stand at work deteriorated, I left my apartment, friends, and job to move across the country so my mom could help with my care as I sought a diagnosis. With so much lost and even more at stake, it was especially frustrating when doctors focused on the fact that I'm trans instead of my symptomslike in the visit where I had to explain my lack of reproductive organs.

By the time I turned to the healthcare abyss in search of answers, I was a veteran of the system, having undergone hormone replacement therapy and two surgeries over the prior four years. Navigating my medical transition was exhausting, expensive, and complicated, but the surgeons, therapists, and physicians I saw specialized in trans-related treatment. They gave me the nave belief that, with decent insurance, emotional support, and the willingness to complete a thousand forms, I could receive adequate care.

But needing non-trans-related care meant dealing with doctors who had little to no experience treating trans patients, who often conflated my gender with my wider health. Over the span of two years, many medical professionals immediately questioned if my gender-confirming surgeries were responsible for my pain. One doctor read my chart and cross-examined me about my genetic material. So, if we were to test your DNA and chromosomes, youd actually be a woman? she interrogated. A rheumatologist asked me if I believed in God, which apparently would give me the strength I needed toI dont knowsurvive this appointment? I was sometimes asked when I first felt I was trans, and whether I was considering further surgeries.

After ruling out these concerns, providers brushed me off with a painkiller prescription and the recommendation to see a psychiatrist. I did, and she helped me understand and handle the toxic cycle of pain and stress familiar to many chronically ill folks. But my pain never went away. I wondered if doctors suggestions for me to see a psychiatrist were informed not only by my symptoms or behavior, but by my previous medical record of gender-related therapy.

I underwent countless appointments, misdiagnoses, and stressful tests in search of a cause: MRIs, CT scans, X-Rays, corticosteroid shots, antibiotics, four rounds of physical therapy. Nearly a year after the onset of my pain, I remarked to one physicians assistant that doctors didnt seem to believe I had a legitimate health problem and asked inappropriate questions about my gender. The PA told me straight out, firmly but sympathetically: Youre young, transgender, and have a mental health diagnosis," he said, referring to the gender dysphoria diagnosis I'd needed in order to transition. "Most doctors will think you just want drugs or have psychological problems.

His candor was shocking. Throughout six years of working with doctors during my transition, I jumped through hoops to prove my mental stability in order to access the gender-confirming procedures I needed. Yet, regarding my chronic pain, the body I'd worked so hard to align with was used against meevidence that I was prone to psychological problems.

Doctors have always been trans peoples biggest allies and biggest antagonists. Doctors made it possible for trans people to access new levels of harmony in their own bodies, and doctors helped dispel the stigma that trans people are inherently mentally disturbed. But doctors were also the very people who determined that being trans was a mental illness in the first place.

In the 1940s and 50s, during the early years of trans medicine in the U.S., doctors instituted a system of gatekeeping to sort the real trans people from the rest. They prized trans folks' ability to pass"to move through society undetected as transand patients needed to play the game if they wanted approval for treatment. In Julia Seranos queer classic Whipping Girl, she describes how trans women learned to show up for their psychotherapy appointments wearing dresses and makeup, stick to a narrative about being trapped in a mans body, and deny being sexually active.

The functions and language of this system of control linger: When I had top surgery in 2012, my insurance listed my diagnosis as true transsexual, a term from endocrinologist Harry Benjamins 1966 Sexual Orientation Scale. Just this May, the worlds two gold-standard diagnostic tools, the World Health Organizations International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), de-categorized transness as a mental illness. Until then, trans patients were labeled as suffering from gender identity disorder (GID). The new ICD terminology is gender incongruence, and the DSM replaced GID with gender dysphoria.

Susan Stryker highlighted medical sciences power to regulate society in Transgender History , writing , Medical practitioners and institutions have the social power to determine what is considered sick or healthy, normal or pathological... to transform potentially neutral forms of human difference into unjust and oppressive social hierarchies. Still today, doctors play god with trans bodies, deciding who does and doesn't deserve access to careas I found out, this time around, in my experiences with general practitioners.

The doctor who cluelessly asked about my prostate was, ironically, the doctor who gave me the best advice about subjecting myself to doctor after doctor: You have to prepare yourself to go through this for a long time. By this, I think he meant not only physical discomfort, but the very process of seeking care itself, of dealing with the unpleasant assumptions, of being profoundly disappointed and dismissed.

I finally received a diagnosis when a friend recommended a rheumatologist close to home. His office didnt take insurance, but I was desperate. The doctor himself actually received me on time from the waiting rooma first. He went over my trans-related treatment briefly, but spent nearly all of the appointment directly addressing the actual symptoms I was there to discuss. He determined I have undifferentiated spondyloarthritis, an auto-inflammatory disease that affects the spine, joints, and where tendons and ligaments attach to bone. I will most likely struggle with pain for my entire life, although medications and physical therapy can help. I felt dejected, but grateful to regain a modicum of understanding and control. And I'd found a doctor who made me feel believed.

This should not have taken as long as it did, especially given the amount of specialists I saw. 2016 data suggests around 1.4 million people in the U.S. identify as trans, which means we can bust once and for all the myth that the average American (and doctor) has not met a transgender person. Trans healthcare is no longer a niche business, and with unprecedented media visibility for trans folks this decade, a lack of basic knowledge about trans identities and healthcare needs is more inexcusable than ever.

My doctor didnt specialize in trans healthcare, but he could provide tailored care for my specific body with kindness and respect. Im certain my positive experience at this practice was directly correlated to the fact that I paid out of pocket for the care, a more-lucrative exchange for doctors which subsequently incentivizes a more hands-on approach, but there are things all medical care providers can do to educate themselves and make trans patients feel more welcome.

We cant fix the outdated, for-profit healthcare system overnight, but we can start by advocating for the humanization of disenfranchised patient populations. Practices should prioritize having at least one doctor with some experience treating trans people and have all of their staff take full advantage of free resources about how to offer respectful and effective care, like the University of San Franciscos "Guidelines for the Primary and Gender-Affirming Care of Transgender and Gender Nonbinary People." Healthcare professionals with an online presence can openly list their trans-friendliness in order to help clients find them (and avoid doctors who aren't aware or respectful of trans health). Even seemingly small things, like safe space stickers and LGBTQ health brochures are always appreciated. It is an anomaly for anyone to have reliable access to good healthcare in America, but for trans patients like me, especially ones seeking care for chronic issues, it's, devastatingly, even rarer.

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For Trans People, Doctors Are Both Allies and Antagonists - Tonic

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You have to surrender to it, British comedian Dawn French proclaimed last year of menopause. "I promise that, afterwards, theres life."

Disturbed sleep. Thinning hair. Anxiety. Mood swings. Memory loss. Weight gain. Or, for some women, nothing much at all.

Despite being a fundamental biological transition affecting half the world's population, the symptoms of menopause have been deemed, traditionally, "secret" women's business. Now it's starting to become more a part of the conversation.

In Britain, women are gathering at pop-up "menopause cafes" to swap notes on their experiences. Workplace policies to cater for menopausal employees are up for discussion too: Britain's Labour Party wants to mandate them for large organisations, and a major media company introduced one in October.

What is menopause and what is it with a "peri" in front? What happens to women experiencing it? What happens afterwards? And is there a male equivalent?

On average, a woman in Australia will have 400 to 500 periods in her lifetime. Menopause is when the periods stop. The word itself stems from the Greek pausis ("pause") and men ("month"), meaning the "end of monthly cycles".

Women are on a path to menopause from birth. A baby girl has more than a million eggs in her ovaries. Steadily, as she ages, they deplete. By the time puberty hits, only about 300,000 remain, and so it goes, through her adult life.

[Menopause] represents the end of a womans reproductive life, says Martha Hickey, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne. Specifically, menopause is the final menstrual period a woman experiences it is a one-off event. All women will go through menopause. It is inevitable."

(In a reproductive life spanning decades, the average Australian woman will have two or fewer babies.)

Menopause is considered a normal part of ageing when it happens after the age of 40. But some women can go through menopause early, either as a result of surgery such as hysterectomy, or damage to the ovaries such as from chemotherapy. When menopause happens before 40, regardless of the cause, it is called premature menopause.

The average age of menopause is about 51 but it can happen sooner, with most women experiencing symptoms in the lead-up which brings us to perimenopause.

Comparing notes on perimenopause: there's a lot to talk about. Credit:Illustration: Dionne Gain

Technically speaking, the symptoms women experience in the lead-up to menopause are actually perimenopausal. Peri, a Greek word for "around" or "near" menopause refers to this transitional state.

Perimenopause is when a woman's ovaries begin to make less oestrogen and the body responds. It's a phase that lasts until menopause and, on average, begins when a woman is 47, although it can last from a year to a decade.

As the body makes less oestrogen, the pituitary gland produces higher levels of signalling hormones follicle-stimulating and luteinising hormones in an effort to keep the ovaries producing eggs and to make oestrogen and progesterone levels "normal".

This can lead to ovulation occurring twice in a cycle, the second time during a period, which can lead to high hormone levels. In other cycles, ovulation might not occur at all.

Some women describe perimenopause as a time of hormonal chaos akin to a second-wave puberty. Symptoms also include hot flushes, changes in libido, mood swings, memory problems, vaginal dryness and a higher risk of osteoporosis. Periods can be less regular, lighter or heavier, last longer or be briefer.Womens' experiences vary greatly some barely register anything.

"It's what's called the menopause transition when those symptoms start," Professor Hickey says. "That can go on for a number of years and the end of that transitional period is a year after the final menstrual period."

Genetic factors play some role in timing. If your mother and other close female relatives had an early or late perimenopause, it's likely you will too. But various studies also point to lifestyle factors, such as smoking, being linked to early onset while other studies have pointed to alcohol consumption delaying perimenopause.

Credit:IStock

After a woman has had 12 consecutive months of amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) she is said to be postmenopausal.

Perimenopausal symptoms ease but health risks related to the loss of oestrogen rise. This includes a decrease in bone density, which can lead to osteoporosis, where bones become thin and fragile. It also includes weight gain, which can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Women are advised to keep active, which also releases endorphins that improve mood, and to do strength training to increase blood flow and strengthen the heart.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), or menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) as it's now known, is currently the most effective type of treatment available for perimenopause symptoms; more than 300,000 Australian women and about 12 million women in Western countries are using it. But it has been linked with breast and ovarian cancers.

"All medications carry risk and benefits," Professor Hickey says. "A benefit of HRT is that it's really good for symptoms. A risk is that it does increase the risk of cancer. I don't think we should beat around the bush about that. But it varies by the type of hormone therapy you take and it might vary depending on how long you take it for."

The risks are greater, for example, for users of oestrogen-progestagen hormone therapy than for oestrogen-only therapy. A large study by the Institute of Cancer Research in London found that women who took hormone therapy for five years were 2.7 times more likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not. Recent research also suggests that, in some cases, the danger can persist for more than a decade after treatment stops.

Another study found that women using hormone therapy for between one and four years have a 60 per cent higher chance of developing breast cancer compared with those who have never used it.

The report's authors, who examined 58 studies across the world, found that of 108,647 women who developed breast cancer at an average age of 65, almost half had used hormone therapy.

When asked if women should avoid hormone therapy due to the increased risk of cancer, Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips, the founder of the Peter MacCallum Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Management Clinic, has said the decision should be made on a case-by-case basis.

"Some women will find, short-term, it can help relieve their symptoms," she saidearlier this year.

Professor Phillips warned, however, that women who had been on hormone therapy for a year should have their treatment reviewed, adding there were alternatives for treating symptoms including weight loss, moisturisers for vaginal dryness and avoiding caffeine or alcohol.

The 'grandmother theory" is one explanation for menopause in humans.

Apart from humans, most mammals stay fertile until the ends of their lives. There are a few exceptions: killer whales, short-finned pilot whales, belugas and narwhals can live for decades beyond their reproductive years. Guppies also appear to go through a fish version of menopause.

But long postmenopausal lifespans are an aspect of biology that appears to be at odds with natural selection. Why do women suddenly stop having periods when they still have at least a third of their lives to live, during which they could be producing offspring?

Some experts, including Professor Hickey, believe high death rates of mothers during childbirth throughout history emphasised the importance of grandmothers in rearing future generations, unhindered by more children of their own. This is known as the grandmother theory.

Not really but andropause can affect men older than 40. Andropause is the gradual reduction of the male sex hormone (testosterone) with increasing age. Its symptoms include sexual dysfunction, weakness, fatigue, insomnia, loss of motivation, mood disorders and reduction of bone density. Though the symptoms aren't as severe as those of menopause, they can last for as long as 15 to 20 years.

An egg surrounded by sperm.Credit:Alamy

Although eggs succumb to menopause, pregnancy is still possible using a donor egg. During perimenopause, ovulation can occur, meaning a woman can conceive naturally, even if she is using hormone therapy.

When UK based former magazine editor Lynnette Peck and her friend Paula Fry first began to experience symptoms of perimenopause they found they had no safe space to share their feelings on the matter. In a bid to open up dialogue, they started a secret Facebook page in 2017.

Word got around quickly. Soon they had more than 700 members and then Feeling Flush was born; a public online community for women across the world to connect.

"We wanted women, including ourselves, to have places to share information and educate each other and have a moan," Ms Peck says.

"Women mostly ask us about hormone replacement therapy and the pros and cons. We are not medical experts so we point them to people who are. There is now a conversation. It was hidden before. Here in the UK, even political parties and huge brands are getting involved."

Professor Hickey notes that women make up almost half of the workforce in Australia and two-thirds of the voluntary sector. They continue to look after children across generations and are often the primary carer for parents.

Our society has a big a focus on youth and the preservation of youth and menopause is a maker of age in women and ageing in women is not a topic we still have very much discussion about," Professor Hickey says.

"It's quite likely that women who experience menopause may not have been informed fully about what to expect. It's quite possible a lot of men don't know very much about menopause at all."

Last week, British free-to-air television Channel 4 launched a menopause policy to support women experiencing perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, anxiety and fatigue by giving them access to flexible working arrangements and paid leave if they feel unwell.

It's a shift Professor Hickey wants in Australia. She would like to see menopause treated as a "diversity issue" with workplaces actively supporting women experiencing it.

"Pregnancy would be a similar example: only women get pregnant, and we've learnt to adapt, and I think we need to take a similar perspective to menopause."

Melissa Cunningham is The Age's health reporter.

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What is menopause and perimenopause? - The Age