"Can't Take Estrogen?" Dr. Corinne Menn on Who Should, Who Shouldn't & What's Changed

In this episode, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Corinne Menn to tackle one of the most common questions in women's health: "Can I take estrogen?" As a board-certified OB-GYN, certified menopause practitioner, and 24-year breast cancer survivor, Dr. Menn brings both professional expertise and lived experience to this conversation about who can take hormone therapy, who can't, and what's changed in recent years. Dr. Menn's own story provides powerful context for this discussion. At just 28 years old, during her second year of medical residency, she discovered a lump in her breast just one week before learning her mother had recurrent ovarian cancer. Within days of her mother's sudden death, Dr. Menn received her own devastating diagnosis: breast cancer. What followed was a grueling journey through mastectomy, chemotherapy, and induced menopause while simultaneously completing one of medicine's most demanding training programs. Throughout this conversation, Dr. Menn shares the profound gaps in survivorship care that she experienced firsthand and continues to witness in her patients today. The medical system, she explains, is focused on treating cancer but often fails to prepare women for the marathon of side effects that follow, particularly the devastating impact of estrogen deprivation on sexual health, mental health, bone density, and cardiovascular risk. Guest links: * Dr. Corinne Menn (Website) https://www.drmenn.com/ * Dr. Corinne Menn (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/drmennobgyn/ * Dr. Corinne Menn (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/drmenn/ * Dr. Corinne Menn (Alloy Health) https://www.myalloy.com/expert/corinne-menn-d-o?srsltid=AfmBOooqjlyB7FjhPpUAV8LsFqedivZu3OQGTNLhebnUtrRRxcQ-5a-4 * Dr. Corinne Menn (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmenn/ * Dr. Corinne Menn (TikTok) https://www.tiktok.com/@drmennobgyn * Dr. Corinne Menn (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@drmenn * Dr. Corinne Menn (Substack) https://drmennobgyn.substack.com/ * Dr. Corinne Menn (Young Survival Coalition) https://youngsurvival.org/about/corinne-menn-md Recommended Books: * “The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book?srsltid=AfmBOoqkbc2_wmfEQSfuf1fMT3s-ImuwNhUak8wC4KsEiYhHyNtQgSy5 * “You Are Not Broken: Stop ‘Should-ing’ All Over Your Sex Life,” by Dr. Kelly Casperson https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Not-Broken-Should-ing/dp/1399813609 For full show notes, please visit: https://bit.ly/unPAUSEDCorinneMenn 00:00 – K18 Sponsor & Hair Science 01:07 – “Have Your Cake & Eat It Too” 02:00 – Episode Introduction 02:59 – Corinne’s Breast Cancer Story Begins 07:52 – Her Mother’s Ovarian Cancer 11:08 – Residency + A Breast Lump 12:39 – Receiving the Diagnosis 15:00 – Making Surgical Decisions 19:49 – Chemo, Menopause & Mental Health 20:49 – Fertility Preservation Before Chemo 29:12 – Becoming a Mom Against the Odds 36:20 – Young Survival Coalition 40:40 – The Estrogen Conversation 47:33 – Abrupt Surgical Menopause 50:38 – Becoming a Menopause Specialist Never miss an episode—sign up for The ’Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ’Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.