Menopause and the Myth of Having It All | Dr. Sharon Malone
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Sharon Malone, board-certified OB-GYN, New York Times bestselling author of Grown Woman Talk, and Chief Medical Advisor at Alloy Health for an honest conversation about what it really takes to balance medicine, motherhood, and everything in between.
Dr. Malone practiced before and after the Women's Health Initiative, so she has a unique perspective on how hormone therapy went from standard care to being feared. We discuss why only 1% of Black women who are eligible for hormone therapy are actually on it, despite suffering the longest and most severe symptoms.
We also dive into her work leading Alloy Health's Black Women's Initiative, medical bias in healthcare, and why menopause is inevitable but suffering is not.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why giving yourself grace in midlife isn't optional, perimenopause literally decreases your ability to cope.
How women of color carry the additional weight of representing their entire group, not just themselves.
Why are only 1% of Black women eligible for hormone therapy actually on it, despite having worse symptoms?
The myth that Black women don't need hormones because they make more estrogen through adipose tissue is completely false.
How racialized medicine affects everything from who gets diagnosed with endometriosis to who receives pain management.
Why guidelines are guardrails, not laws. Medicine requires judgment, not just algorithms.
If your doctor gets defensive about a second opinion, you need a different doctor.
How to trust your gut when something feels wrong, even if tests come back "normal".
