Why are so many women leaving their doctor's office with more questions than answers? For the first time on Aging Powerfully, I'm bringing together four powerhouse experts for one no holds barred conversation: a neuroscientist, a family physician and menopause specialist, a fitness and menopause expert, and a registered dietitian. Four lenses, one mission: helping you understand what is really happening in your body at midlife.

In Part 1, the panel takes on the hottest and most hotly debated topics in women's health. Is menopause care failing women? Should hormone therapy be a first line option? Are GLP-1s a breakthrough or a shortcut? And is the peptide boom the next frontier or the next wellness gold rush? The science, the myths and what the evidence actually says.

• Access to care, medical gaslighting and the family doctor shortage as a women's health crisis
• Why there is no reliable blood test for perimenopause, and the problem with at home hormone testing kits
• Menopause hormone therapy: who it's for, when to consider it, and the truth about compounded and "bioidentical" hormones
• Testosterone: the most overlooked hormone in women's midlife care?
• GLP-1s: the promise, the muscle loss question, and whether they'll one day be as normal as statins
• Peptides: anti aging breakthrough or ahead of the science?

• Dr. Sara Mitchell is a neuroscientist researching how the menopause transition affects cognition, mood and long term brain health. @doctor.sara.mitchell
• Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe is a family physician and menopause specialist known for her clear, practical approach to women's health. @drsheilaw
• Amanda Thebe is a fitness and menopause expert and bestselling author of Menopocalypse. @amanda.thebe
• Alissa Steinberg is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator specializing in the metabolic, hormonal and digestive sides of women's health. @healthyu_dietitian

This episode is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Please speak with your healthcare provider about your own care.

Watch the full video episode and join the conversation on Substack: melissagrelo.substack.com!

Find Melissa Grelo on Instagram @MelissaGrelo and @AgingPowerfullyWithMG, or on her website AgingPowerfullyWithMelissaGrelo.com.

Producer: Melissa Grelo

Audio/Video Producer and Editor: Drew Garner

One year ago, Dr. Omolayo Famuyide sat down with me to talk about why menopause is not the same for all of us. In the menoverse, a year is an eternity. Since then, the U.S. FDA has stripped most of the 20 year old black box warning off hormone therapy, a major new review has weighed in on hormones and dementia, Health Canada has authorized a new nonhormonal option for hot flashes, and social media has served up a fresh wave of miracle cures and scare stories.

So Dr. Famuyide is back for Menopause 2026: a clear, evidence based reset on what menopause actually is, what the science now says, and what it still doesn't. We go myth by myth, from "hormones cause cancer" to "hormones prevent dementia," and we tackle the question too many doctors still can't answer: why do women of colour often go through menopause earlier, longer and harder, and why are they still less likely to be treated?

If you're 40 or over, love someone who is, or treat women who are, this is your refresher course.

In this episode we cover

• What menopause and perimenopause really are, and why most women are in the transition years before they realize it
• What has changed in the last year: the FDA label change, what it means (and doesn't mean) for Canadian women, and new non-hormonal treatments
• What hasn't changed: who is a good candidate for hormone therapy and why timing still matters
• True or false: can hormone therapy prevent heart disease or dementia?
• The misinformation still bamboozling women on social media, in supplement aisles and, yes, sometimes in the doctor's office
• Menopause in women of colour: earlier onset, longer lasting hot flashes, higher heart disease risk, and the research and care gaps behind it
• How to walk into your next appointment prepared, and why this stage can be your power up, not your power down

About Dr. Omolayo Famuyide

Dr. Omolayo Famuyide is a menopause doctor practicing in Winnipeg, Manitoba and one of the few menopause specialists in Canada who understands no two people will through this transition the same way. She first joined the podcast for Episode 61, "Why Menopause Is Not the Same for All of Us."

Find her on Instagram at @layocentre and @dr.famuyidemd, and at layocentre.com.

Listen, watch and join us

New audio episodes drop every Thursday. Full video episodes live on Substack, where paid subscribers also get Substack Live aftershows and first access to Aging Powerfully LIVE events. Find it here.

If this episode helped you, share it with one woman who needs it. That's how we change the conversation.

This episode is for education and information only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Talk to your own health care provider about your health.

Tech and Audio producer: Drew Garner

It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this is one conversation every woman needs to hear.

One in eight Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Chances are, it has already touched someone you love. But how much do we really know about where breast cancer stands in Canada today?

In this episode, I sit down with two powerhouse voices in the breast cancer community. MJ DeCoteau founded Rethink Breast Cancer in 2001 after losing her mother to metastatic breast cancer when MJ was just 22, and she has spent more than two decades championing young people, those living with metastatic breast cancer, and communities that have been historically underserved. And Dr. Christine Brezden-Masley, a medical oncologist and researcher, joins us to break down the science, the treatments, and what's coming next.

Together, we cover:

• What breast cancer actually is, and the different types every woman should understand.

• Whether diagnoses are increasing in Canada, and what's behind the numbers.

• The risk factors we can and can't control.

• The latest breakthroughs in treatment.

• Whether access to care is improving, and for whom it still isn't.

• What survivorship really looks like, long after treatment ends.

• Why breast cancer in younger women is different, from diagnosis to treatment to life after cancer.

• How menopause, hormones and breast cancer intersect

• What the future holds for breast cancer diagnostics, treatment and survivorship.

• And what's next for Rethink Breast Cancer.

Whether you're a survivor, a caregiver, or simply want to be informed and empowered about your own health, this episode will leave you knowing more, and ready to advocate for yourself and the women you love.

Resources

Rethink Breast Cancer: rethinkbreastcancer.com

Follow Rethink on Instagram: @rethinkbreastcancer

Canadian Cancer Society: cancer.ca

New episodes of Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo drop every Thursday on all your favourite podcast platforms. Watch the full video conversation on my Substack: www.melissagrelo.substack.com

Tech and Audio Producer: Drew Garner