Keeping Abreast with Dr. Jenn

Hormones, Menopause, and the Cost of Saying No

Dr. Jenn Simmons is joined by Dr. Louise Newson, a hormone-focused physician and menopause educator, for a wide-ranging conversation about the difference between bioidentical and synthetic hormones, why hormone fear persists in medicine, and how that fear affects women’s long-term health. They also dig into breast cancer, BRCA mutations, perimenopause, testosterone, compounding, and why shared decision-making matters more than blanket rules. Key topics Dr. Louise Newson shares how her medical path moved from internal medicine and pathology into general practice, medical writing, and ultimately menopause and hormone care. She explains why the Women’s Health Initiative and other early studies created lasting confusion by mixing synthetic hormones with bioidentical hormones. Dr. Newson breaks down the biological difference between endogenous hormones and synthetic compounds, using receptor biology and chemical structure to show why they are not interchangeable. The conversation examines why many clinicians still fear hormone therapy, including outdated warnings, guideline dependence, pharma influence, and professional ego. Dr. Newson argues that menopause is not just a “natural transition” but a hormone deficiency with real biological consequences, especially for bone, cardiovascular, brain, and metabolic health. They discuss the misconception that hormones should only be used briefly, and why some women benefit from continuing treatment based on symptoms, quality of life, and future risk reduction. The episode covers testosterone in women, including why it is underused, why it is often misunderstood as only a libido hormone, and how it can affect mood, energy, sleep, joints, and cognition. They explore how perimenopause is best approached by assessing progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone separately rather than relying on one broad label. Dr. Newson addresses compounding, explaining why individualized preparations can be useful and why “compounded” does not automatically mean unsafe. The discussion moves into breast cancer and BRCA mutations, with a focus on why hormone decisions should be individualized rather than ruled out by category. They emphasize that women need better information to make informed choices, and that refusing to offer hormone treatment can itself cause harm. Timestamps 00:00 - Why Dr. Louise Newson is such a trusted voice on hormones 01:17 - Losing her father young and the path into medicine 03:39 - From prescribing HRT to becoming a medical writer 04:04 - The WHI study and why it changed everything 05:55 - Why antidepressants were replacing hormone care 07:32 - Synthetic hormones versus bioidentical hormones 09:33 - How receptor biology explains the difference 10:32 - Chemical examples that show how small changes matter 11:30 - Why WHO classified ethinyl estradiol as carcinogenic 13:34 - Why warnings and guidelines keep the fear alive 15:28 - The vacuum created when doctors stopped learning hormones 16:41 - Training more than 33,000 clinicians in menopause care 18:57 - Why gynecologists are not necessarily hormone experts 19:24 - Why endocrinology and psychiatry often miss the issue 20:49 - Is menopause a disease or a normal transition? 22:15 - Why early menopause raises the stakes 23:34 - Why hormone therapy should remain a choice 24:27 - What happens when the body adapts to low hormones 25:41 - Why supplements cannot replace estradiol, progesterone, or testosterone 28:55 - What older women discover when they finally try hormones 29:57 - The so-called window of opportunity after age 60 31:31 - Why hormones may still help women with heart disease 33:41 - Why there will never be a big randomized trial 35:07 - Why medicine accepts some evidence standards and ignores others 37:39 - The compounding controversy and why it makes no sense 39:36 - Why testosterone can be safer as a pump or customized preparation 40:03 - Why Dr. Newson dislikes the words menopause and perimenopause 40:59 - Treating progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone separately 42:38 - Why testosterone is so misunderstood in women 44:03 - The limits of libido-only thinking 45:28 - Testosterone data in men and why it gets ignored for women 46:11 - BRCA mutations, ovarian cancer, and hormone eligibility 48:56 - Why society guidelines are not the same as facts 49:54 - The hidden harm of withholding hormones 51:52 - The woman whose life changed after starting treatment 53:09 - Why not prescribing can create real long-term danger 54:11 - Women often know more than their providers now 55:38 - The breast cancer population and refusing tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors 56:46 - Estrogen receptor positive does not mean estrogen caused the cancer 60:06 - Risks of tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors 61:33 - Testosterone use after breast cancer 63:05 - Why cancer and recurrence happen with or without hormones 65:26 - Who Dr. Newson would refuse to treat 66:55 - A breast cancer case where hormones supported mental health 68:09 - Why old breast cancer treatments included estrogen and progesterone 70:13 - Why hormone treatment is reversible 71:56 - The goal is helping women reach a better baseline 72:23 - Where to find Dr. Louise Newson To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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158 : IBS, finding and treating the root cause of irritable bowel syndrome

Dr. Jenn Simmons speaks with pharmacist turned integrative health author Dr. Isabella Wentz about the hidden drivers of IBS, why so many people get mislabeled without answers, and how gut issues can connect to autoimmune disease, hormones, and chronic inflammation. Dr. Wentz shares her own path from conventional pharmacy into root-cause medicine, including how her personal experience with fatigue, IBS, and Hashimoto’s changed everything.We discuss the limits of standard IBS care, the most useful testing strategies, and the major causes she sees in practice, from SIBO and food sensitivities to protozoal infections and hormone disruption. This conversation is especially useful for anyone who has been told their digestive symptoms are “just IBS” and wants a more complete framework. Key topics Dr. Wentz shares how she entered pharmacy school wanting to invent drugs, not practice natural medicine, and how her own illness redirected her career. Her first major gut issue began in pharmacy school with fatigue and severe IBS symptoms, which improved after removing certain soy-based meal replacements. She explains IBS as a wastebasket diagnosis, not a true root-cause diagnosis, and says it often reflects a much bigger underlying problem. She notes that IBS can precede autoimmune conditions by 5 to 10 years, which is why gut symptoms should be taken seriously. She outlines red flags that should prompt further testing, including rectal bleeding, blood in stool, weight loss, fever, and new IBS symptoms after age 35 to 40. She recommends functional testing such as SIBO breath testing and comprehensive stool analysis like GI Map or Gut Zoomer to look for dysbiosis, low enzymes, and infections. She explains why SIBO often comes back if the true driver is not addressed, such as low thyroid function, low stomach acid, H. pylori, or protozoal infection. She cautions against overly restrictive diets, saying many people end up with “gluten-free junk food” patterns or elimination diets so strict they create new problems. She discusses food sensitivity testing, saying results vary widely by method, but she has seen strong practical value in IgG testing for symptom tracking. She highlights the role of parasites and protozoa, especially microscopic organisms like Giardia and Blastocystis, and her preference for testing rather than guessing. She and Dr. Simmons discuss hormone effects on digestion, including how progesterone decline and estrogen dominance may contribute to constipation and IBS symptoms. Dr. Wentz emphasizes that healing should support real life, not perfection, so people can travel, eat normally sometimes, and still feel well. Timestamps 00:00 - Why Dr. Wentz wrote her fifth book on IBS 03:29 - From pharmacy school to the first signs something was wrong 04:42 - Fatigue, IBS, and the soy lecithin discovery 06:57 - When Hashimoto’s changed the entire direction of her career 08:21 - Why root-cause medicine became impossible to ignore 10:51 - How she found answers before functional medicine was mainstream 13:54 - Why IBS is often the wrong label for the real problem 18:39 - Red flags that should never be written off as IBS 21:26 - The two tests she relies on most: SIBO and stool analysis 23:15 - Why SIBO keeps returning when the root cause remains 26:53 - Protozoa, infections, and why SIBO is often secondary 28:18 - Movement, walking, and improving gut motility 29:06 - What IBS still gets wrong today 30:17 - Why gluten and dairy are often the first foods to remove 31:33 - When elimination diets become too extreme 33:30 - Processed “healthy” foods, artificial sweeteners, and gut irritation 36:27 - Birth control, IBS risk, and hidden hormone effects 42:26 - Progesterone, estrogen dominance, and constipation cycles 45:04 - Gut connections to anxiety, TMJ, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue 47:50 - Parasites, protozoa, and how Dr. Wentz tests for them 52:28 - Full moon timing and why collection method matters 54:28 - Why food sensitivity testing depends on the test used 57:17 - Getting foods back after elimination 59:33 - Her own shift away from perfectionism 62:50 - What the IBS book covers and who should read it 65:10 - Where to find Dr. Wentz online To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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157 : Why Functional Medicine Went Mainstream After Being Dismissed for Years

Dr. Jenn Simmons talks with Dr. Robin Berzin about her path from an unexpected pre-med background to conventional medical training, then into functional medicine and entrepreneurship. The conversation covers the roots of Robin's interest in prevention, her early exposure to health and nutrition, and how she built Parsley Health into a national, insurance-covered practice.In this episode, they discuss why functional medicine can work alongside conventional care, how to think about root causes instead of symptom suppression alone, and what it takes to scale a health care company without losing clinical rigor. Robin also shares the realities of fundraising, leadership, and protecting her own health while building a company and raising three kids. Key topics Dr. Robin Berzin's origin story, from international relations and economics to medicine How a college thesis on hormone-treated beef helped shape her interest in public health, nutrition, and cancer risk Why she did not initially see herself as a science person, and how she later reframed medicine as pattern recognition and synthesis The role of her father's internal medicine background, and why she still did not assume medicine was her path How yoga, meditation, organic food, and personal health experiences deepened her interest in prevention and whole-person care What functional medicine means in practice: using the same medical tools, but focusing on root causes, personalization, and prevention Why Robin saw a need to standardize and scale functional medicine through Parsley Health The tension between conventional medicine and alternative medicine, and why she rejects all-or-nothing thinking Examples of root-cause thinking, including recurrent UTIs, migraines, autoimmune disease, infertility, and chronic fatigue The challenge of building trust with insurers through outcomes data, cost savings, and reduced utilization What it took to raise capital as a female founder with no MBA and no prior business background How leadership changed as Parsley grew from a small team to a 120-person company The importance of listening to patients, not just investors or skeptics, when making company decisions How Robin maintains her own health with sleep, supplements, meditation, food choices, exercise, and self-monitoring Her hope that evidence-based functional medicine becomes part of standard primary care Timestamps 00:00 - Why Dr. Robin Berzin stands out in functional medicine 01:22 - The unexpected path from undergrad to medicine 02:26 - A thesis on hormone-treated beef and public health 04:35 - Early exposure to cancer prevention and health research 06:12 - Having a doctor father, but not seeing medicine as an obvious path 07:01 - Why medicine is more about synthesis than equations 09:22 - Strengths that matter in clinical practice 10:56 - From conventional med school to a functional medicine career 12:40 - What functional medicine actually means 14:14 - Yoga, food, and becoming more aware of health 16:18 - Research, ADHD trials, and early clues about her own ADHD 18:12 - Early exposure to Mark Hyman and Dr. Oz 20:31 - Why Parsley Health was built to fix access and consistency problems 21:24 - Real outcomes from functional medicine care 22:33 - Why medicine should use both conventional and functional tools 23:47 - Root-cause care for UTIs and migraines 25:09 - Functional medicine versus paint-by-numbers primary care 26:04 - Making functional medicine accessible through a national platform 27:24 - The courage required to build a company while practicing medicine 28:29 - Trial, error, and the first steps as a founder 31:20 - Bootstrapping the first version of Parsley 33:28 - Building a patient base and hiring the first team 34:32 - Raising a first round as a female founder 36:11 - The fear and pressure of taking investor money 37:30 - Learning fundraising with help from other women in venture 38:26 - Why fundraising never really ends 39:23 - How investor relationships changed as Parsley grew 41:28 - Why medicine did not prepare her for executive leadership 42:16 - The hardest lessons in hiring and management 44:15 - When investor priorities pushed the company off course 46:17 - Choosing company survival while staying true to the mission 47:45 - Parsley's broader mission and why health care costs are unsustainable 49:34 - Why functional medicine should become standard primary care 50:01 - Using outcomes data to win over insurers 52:25 - Why people assumed Parsley was only for the “worried well” 53:29 - How the medical community has responded over time 54:20 - The rise of longevity medicine and ongoing skepticism 56:52 - Dark nights of the soul during fundraising and board conflict 59:51 - How Robin protects her own mental and physical health 62:52 - Sleep, data, and the reality of life as a busy founder 64:03 - Travel routines, intermittent fasting, and skincare 65:53 - What she hopes medicine will look like when her career is done 68:17 - Why impact is fastest when you stay in your lane 70:18 - Food dyes, public health priorities, and respecting different missions 73:16 - Curiosity, skepticism, and keeping the lamps lit 74:24 - What Parsley Health offers now and how to work with the team Connect with Dr Robin Berzin & Parsley Health: Website: https://www.parsleyhealth.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinberzinmd/ To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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156 : The Truth About Hormones, Progestins, and the Breast Cancer Myth

Dr. Jenn Simmons and Dr. Erica Schwartz on hormones, individualized care, and questioning mainstream medicineDr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Dr. Erica Schwartz for a candid conversation about women’s health, hormone replacement, and the importance of individualized care. They discuss why hormone therapy is gaining renewed attention, why many providers are not adequately trained to prescribe it, and how patients can make more informed decisions about their health. They also explore breast screening, overdiagnosis, metabolic health, medical fear, and the value of having a trusted provider who looks at the whole person. Together, Dr. Jenn and Dr. Schwartz challenge one-size-fits-all medicine and make the case for thoughtful, relationship-based care. What You'll Learn: Why hormone therapy requires better provider education, not just wider access How outdated medical training continues to affect women’s health Why individualized care is often more important than rigid protocols The difference between breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, and overdiagnosis Why metabolic health is central to breast health and long-term wellness How watchful waiting can sometimes be safer than immediate testing or biopsy Why progesterone and synthetic progestins should not be treated as the same thing What women should consider before using supplements, peptides, or extreme diets Why having a trusted healthcare provider can prevent conflicting and unnecessary treatments How patients can question medical assumptions while taking greater responsibility for their health Timestamps 00:00 - Why hormone conversations are surging and why training matters 02:10 - Dr. Schwartz’s path from conventional medicine to individualized care 04:00 - Medical paternalism, discrimination, and resistance to change 15:46 - Why mammography is diagnosis, not prevention 17:32 - Hormone replacement, oral estrogen, and breast cancer concerns 24:07 - Perimenopause labels, social media, and inadequate training 30:30 - Why relationships matter more than protocols and lab results 43:13 - Watchful waiting, breast biopsies, and the value of doing less 45:55 - Metabolic health as a foundation for breast cancer prevention 56:34 - Questioning mammography and taking responsibility for your care 60:08 - Why modern medicine needs more time for patient relationships To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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155 : Autoimmune Disease, Root Causes, and Why the Conventional Model Misses So Much

Dr. Jenn Simmons and Dr. Bradley Campbell unpack why autoimmune disease is rising, why so many patients are dismissed for years, and why symptom suppression alone often makes things worse. This conversation focuses on root causes, especially gut dysfunction, stress, and immune triggers, and explains why individualized care matters more than one-size-fits-all treatment.Dr. Campbell shares how his work evolved from injury care into complex autoimmune cases, while Dr. Simmons brings the perspective of conventional medicine, cancer care, and the limits of training that does not teach health optimization. Key topics In this episode, Dr. Simmons opens with a blunt critique of how poorly autoimmune disease is understood in conventional medicine, especially when labs are “normal” but patients are clearly unwell. Dr. Campbell explains how autoimmune cases found him through patients with chronic, rare, and complex conditions that mainstream care could not resolve. We discuss the gap between medical training and real-world health care, including the difference between knowing how to prescribe and knowing how to create health. Dr. Simmons and Dr. Campbell agree that the system rewards sickness management, not healing, and that insurance incentives often push short visits, prescriptions, and procedures over root-cause work. In this episode: low iron is treated as a major red flag for digestive dysfunction, malabsorption, celiac disease, low enzymes, or bile flow problems, not just a number to supplement away. We discuss why proton pump inhibitors can create long-term digestive problems by reducing stomach acid, impairing digestion, and contributing to dysbiosis and infection risk. Dr. Campbell outlines his autoimmune screening approach, including ANA, ENA panels, thyroid antibodies, hormone testing, food sensitivity workups, and broader root-cause diagnostics. The autoimmune triad comes up in detail: genetics, gut dysfunction, and a trigger such as physical trauma, infection, medication, food reaction, or emotional stress. We discuss parasites as a controversial but real variable in some autoimmune cases, especially in the context of protozoa, gut imbalance, and chronic thyroid issues. Dr. Simmons and Dr. Campbell both push back on rigid diets and medical absolutism, arguing for individualized decisions around grains, dairy, nightshades, and autoimmune protocols. The conversation closes with a strong emphasis on stress, nervous system overload, childhood trauma, and the need for quiet, reflection, and community without constant screen input. Timestamps 00:00 - Why autoimmune disease is exploding and often missed for years 03:15 - How Dr. Campbell’s path shifted from music and injuries to autoimmune care 06:23 - Why medical training is a foundation, not a complete education in health 08:49 - Doctors as well-intentioned players inside a broken system 11:10 - Why screening versus symptom-based testing must be treated differently 13:20 - Autoimmune disease is highly individualized, even when diagnoses look similar 14:23 - Why celiac disease is often found only after a breast cancer diagnosis 16:36 - Why 30 patients a day leaves no room for root-cause medicine 19:34 - Insurance incentives reward sickness instead of health 23:55 - Years of delayed diagnosis and the cost of being told labs are “normal” 26:52 - Low iron as a clue to digestion, not just iron deficiency 28:19 - Why stomach acid matters for digestion, immune protection, and bile signaling 31:03 - How Heidelberg testing evaluates stomach acidity in real time 33:39 - What Dr. Campbell looks for that many providers miss in autoimmune cases 36:09 - The autoimmune triad: genetics, gut dysfunction, and a trigger 37:34 - Structural, biochemical, and emotional triggers that can set off autoimmunity 40:28 - Parasites, terrain, and why over-treatment is not always the answer 43:44 - Vaccine-era inflammation, informed consent, and autoimmune flare concerns 48:59 - A better model for autoimmune disease: the immune system is trying to do something 51:02 - The autoimmune protocol diet and when a less restrictive approach is better 53:31 - Nightshades, liver function, and why food rules should not be universal 56:13 - Why grains and dairy are not automatically bad for everyone, but can be poor fits in active disease 61:34 - Blood sugar, energy, mood, and why kids often need more real food 63:41 - Why processed protein bars and powders are often worse than whole foods 65:49 - Food transitions at home: why change is hard even when the benefits are obvious 67:46 - Root-cause thinking applies to MS, breast cancer, dementia, osteoporosis, and diabetes 70:03 - Dr. Campbell’s membership community, weekly teaching, and lab support 71:30 - GLP-1 drugs: useful tools for some, but not a shortcut for lifestyle change 74:42 - Stress, trauma, quiet time, and why emotional load drives chronic disease 76:55 - Why unresolved trauma and a lack of safety can affect healing for years To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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154 : Between a Shot and a Hard Place: Vaccine Facts, Medical Freedom, and Trust in Medicine

Between a Shot and a Hard Place: Vaccine Facts, Medical Freedom, and Trust in Medicine Dr. Jenn Simmons speaks with pediatrician and integrative medicine practitioner Dr. Joel Warsh, known online as Dr. Gator, about vaccines, informed consent, and why trust in medicine has broken down. The conversation focuses on what parents are actually being told, what the research does and does not show, and how medical decisions get shaped by mandates, industry incentives, and fear.We discuss vaccine schedules, the difference between evidence and dogma, how chronic disease trends relate to broader lifestyle and systems issues, and why Dr. Warsh believes parents need more transparency and more room to choose. Key topics Dr. Warsh explains how he moved from conventional pediatrics into integrative medicine after seeing the value of sleep, diet, exercise, and root-cause thinking in primary care. He describes why vaccines became a major focus in his practice: parents kept asking questions, and he realized medical training had not prepared him to answer them deeply. The hosts discuss how COVID-era mandates intensified distrust, especially in states like California, where school and work requirements effectively removed choice for many families. Dr. Warsh argues that medicine has become too force-driven and too dogmatic, and that doctors should educate rather than pressure patients. The conversation turns to the idea that modern medicine is heavily shaped by pharma funding, which affects training, journals, media, and what gets studied or published. They compare longevity to healthspan, with both speakers noting that people may be living longer but not necessarily healthier, especially in the last 10 to 15 years of life. Chronic disease in children is a major theme, with discussion of rising rates of diabetes, obesity, autoimmune conditions, neurodevelopmental concerns, and autism. Dr. Warsh says the most surprising part of his research for Between a Shot and a Hard Place was realizing how little true vaccinated versus unvaccinated data has been published. He explains the vaccine schedule has expanded over time and discusses why he thinks the lack of manufacturer accountability reduces incentives to improve safety. The episode also covers newer vaccine platforms, including mRNA, and why Dr. Warsh is especially cautious about their use in children. Hepatitis B for newborns comes up as a particularly important example of a vaccine whose timing and risk-benefit calculus he thinks should be revisited. The discussion ends with a broader call for medical freedom, informed consent, and the ability for parents to make decisions without being forced. Timestamps 00:00 - Why vaccine conversations are impossible to avoid 02:10 - How integrative pediatrics changed Dr. Warsh's practice 03:31 - Why parents' vaccine questions became unavoidable 05:13 - Writing Between a Shot and a Hard Place 06:50 - Why COVID deepened mistrust in medicine 09:36 - Why school requirements don't feel like a real choice 13:22 - Medicine should educate, not coerce 17:06 - How pharma shapes training and medical thinking 20:34 - Why accountability matters for vaccine safety 23:28 - The rise of chronic disease in children 30:22 - Big Food, convenience, and multi-generational health impact 36:15 - The Henry Ford vaccinated vs. unvaccinated controversy 40:48 - Why “the science is settled” is the wrong phrase 43:43 - How the vaccine schedule expanded after 1986 48:26 - Rethinking timing, prioritization, and cumulative risk 54:14 - RFK, reform, and transparency 55:14 - What surprised Dr. Warsh most in the research 62:03 - Reassessing newborn and early childhood vaccine timing 67:30 - Why Hep B for newborns is controversial 69:58 - Traditional vaccines vs. mRNA 73:17 - Why Dr. Warsh is cautious about mRNA for kids 75:28 - Why pulled vaccines used to be removed faster 77:41 - The accountability gap 79:39 - Why medical freedom matters for the future To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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153: Hormone Therapy, Safety, and the Future of Women’s Health with Dr. Daved Rosensweet

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Dr. Daved Rosensweet for a wide-ranging, deeply informed conversation about menopause, hormone replacement therapy, breast cancer risk, and why so many women have been left without clear, trustworthy options.Dr. Rosensweet shares how the Women’s Health Initiative created lasting fear around hormones, why that fear was built on misreported data, and how the conversation around estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone has slowly begun to change. Together, they make the case that hormones are not the enemy of women’s health and in many cases, they are central to preserving it. The conversation also turns to safety, testing, individualized dosing, and the role of breast imaging. Dr. Jenn explains why QT imaging is changing the way she thinks about screening, and Dr. Rosensweet reflects on why he has long required imaging before prescribing hormones. The result is an unusually honest, technically rich, and hopeful conversation about how to care for women better at every stage of life. What You’ll Learn Why the Women’s Health Initiative misled both the public and providers What the data actually showed about estrogen and breast cancer risk Why many women were taken off hormones unnecessarily for decades How Dr. Rosensweet thinks about the safety of hormone replacement after breast cancer Why estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone all matter for women’s health How hormone loss contributes to sleep problems, brain fog, libido loss, bone loss, and muscle loss Why the timing of hormone therapy matters, but it may not be “too late” How Dr. Rosensweet approaches individual dosing and hormone testing Why topical delivery matters when it comes to clotting risk and liver metabolism How QT imaging fits into a safer, more modern breast-screening strategy Chapters 00:00 Introduction and episode overview 09:50 Hormone therapy after breast cancer: what the science says 12:31 The role of estrogen and breast cancer risk 14:23 Hormones and breast cancer risk: what the latest studies show 16:22 The lag in medical progress and the 30-year delay in hormone research 17:44 Why the narrative that estrogen causes cancer persists 20:02 Recent advances and the future of hormone therapy 22:51 The importance of provider education and safe hormone protocols 25:49 Signs you should consider hormone therapy 30:44 What women can do if they missed their window for hormone therapy 33:49 Is it ever too late for hormone therapy? 36:02 Determining the right hormone levels and testing methods 37:24 How Dr. Rosensweet ensures safe hormone replacement practices 44:33 Understanding breast cancer cells and hormone receptor sites 46:03 Hormones as protectors, not causes, of breast cancer 47:08 The impact of environmental toxins on health 48:17 The need for testosterone in women and men 52:02 Addressing the lack of provider training on hormones 54:27 Empowering women to have informed conversations about hormones 55:46 Closing remarks and call to action To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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How Hormones Can Improve Women's Health and Longevity

Dr. Jenn Simmons interviews Dr. David Rosensweet about the history, misconceptions, and latest science of hormone replacement therapy, especially in relation to women's health and breast cancer risk. In this episode, Dr. Jenn Simmons and Dr. Rosensweet explore the science and safety of hormone replacement therapy, the importance of personalized treatment, and innovative breast cancer screening methods like QT. They discuss how understanding hormone levels, testing, and new technologies can transform women's health and cancer prevention. Key Topics in This Episode History of hormone therapy and misconceptions Impact of the Women's Health Initiative study The safety and benefits of bioidentical hormones Risks of hormone therapy and how to evaluate them The importance of early intervention in hormonal decline Advances in hormone therapy research and future prospects Hormone levels and testing accuracy Safety and personalization in hormone therapy The importance of estriol and receptor sites New breast cancer screening technologies like QT The impact of environmental toxins and lifestyle on women's health Chapters 00:00 Introduction and guest background 01:56 History of hormone therapy and misconceptions 04:07 Impact of the Women's Health Initiative study 05:51 Reevaluation and retraction of initial findings 06:56 Why false narratives persist in medicine 09:59 The science behind hormone safety and breast cancer risk 15:00 Studies on hormones and breast cancer recurrence 20:12 Progress in hormone therapy acceptance and future outlook 25:11 The importance of early hormone intervention 29:51 Hormone therapy in aging and longevity 34:58 Practical signs and when to seek help 40:01 Reversibility of hormone deficiency effects 44:53 Risks, evaluation, and safety protocols 50:07 Hormone therapy protocols and cycle management 55:06 Cell biology of menstrual and menopausal changes 59:50 Closing thoughts and future directions To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide To purchase the auria breast cancer screening test go here https://auria.care/ and use the code DRJENN20 for 20% Off. Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.jennsimmonsmd.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

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152: Part 2 | The Mammogram Is Off the Table, Here Is What a Former Breast Surgeon Recommends Instead with Ivy Harris

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons returns for part two of her conversation with Ivy Harris, the homeschool mom and researcher behind Done with Diligence, to answer the question Part 1 left open: if not a mammogram, then what? Dr. Jenn makes her most direct case yet that screening healthy, asymptomatic women with mammography is unethical and unsupported by science, and she lays out the alternative she built her practice around. This is the episode where she stops critiquing the old model and hands women a new one. Ivy asks the question every listener is thinking after Part 1: is there ever a situation where Dr. Jenn recommends a mammogram? Her answer draws the one line that matters most in this whole conversation, the line between screening a woman who feels fine and diagnosing a woman who has a symptom. One of those saves lives. The other, she argues, has been quietly manufacturing cancer for sixty years. This is the episode you'll want to send to every woman who's ever been told she has no choice but to start at 40 and repeat every year. What You'll Learn Why Dr. Jenn recommends no screening mammogram for any asymptomatic woman. What the difference between FDA cleared and FDA approved really means, and why mammography would never pass the FDA today How QT compares to mammography and why it was built for dense breasts and implants first Why screening a 30 year old with a mammogram isn't avoided because it can't be done, but because it would reliably cause cancer Why the WISDOM trial showed more screening produces more biopsies and more diagnoses without saving a single additional life What women should actually screen for instead, the metabolic dysfunction and inflammatory markers that point to prevention The daily, no-cost practices Dr. Jenn says do more for breast health than any scan, from fasting to bone-loading movement to detoxification Why a biopsy does not spread cancer, and why stage one breast cancer is 99% survivable Why the difference between surviving breast cancer and thriving after it usually comes down to who gets a health plan, not just a treatment plan Episode Timeline: 01:29 Do mammograms save lives or save breasts 01:50 Why finding cancer early doesn't change the outcome 02:20 How QT imaging and doubling time work 05:01 The difference between screening and diagnosis 07:14 Thermography, ultrasound, and the tears test 12:32 FDA cleared versus FDA approved, explained 18:06 QT versus mammogram sensitivity, 91% versus 71% 20:47 QT for dense breasts and implants 23:51 QT insurance coverage, cost, and access 26:11 What age to start screening, and why not mammograms 28:20 Responding to Peter Attia and the WISDOM trial 34:21 Diet, fasting, movement, and prevention basics 38:53 What to do after a breast cancer diagnosis 39:44 Whether biopsies spread cancer, and the estrogen myth 43:30 Dr. Jenn's credentials and qualifications Guest: Ivy Harris Where to find her: donewithdiligence.com & @donewithdiligence To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

151: Part 1 | Early Detection Was the Promise, but Overdiagnosis and Harmful Radiation is the Reality with Ivy Harris

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Ivy Harris, a homeschool mom of four, researcher, and soon-to-be certified homeopath behind the blog Done with Diligence, for part one of a two-part conversation on the hidden risks of mammograms and breast cancer screening. Ivy is not a doctor. She's a mom who decided she wasn't going to walk into her first mammogram without doing her own homework first, and what she found is the reason this episode exists. It started with one post, Ivy broke down what she'd learned about mammograms into five parts, shared it, and watched it split her audience in half, with some women thanking her and others telling her she was going to get people killed. Dr. Jenn picks up exactly where Ivy left off and does the math no one does at check-in: 40 million screening mammograms a year, and by the numbers in the study Ivy found, the radiation alone works out to tens of thousands of cancers and over a thousand deaths a year. This is the episode you'll want to send to every woman who's ever been told a mammogram is simply safe, simply necessary, and not worth questioning. What You'll Learn The naming decision behind "mammogram" that Dr. Jenn says was never an accident Ionizing radiation is a classified carcinogen, and why radiologists won't apply that logic to their own test The cross-country flight radiation comparison doctors use to reassure you, and why it doesn't hold up How breast density and size can mean 10x more radiation for one woman than another in the same mammogram Why younger breast tissue takes more damage from radiation as screening age keeps getting pushed lower Overdiagnosis: the NIH's own number is as high as 1 in 2 women screened Why DCIS, diagnosed in 90,000 women a year, has no physical route to become life-threatening breast cancer How standard DCIS treatment can raise heart failure and fracture risk higher than the diagnosis itself False positives and the 80% benign biopsy rate hiding behind every mammogram callback What a 2026 American College of Physicians paper found on mammograms and breast cancer mortality, at every age Why decades of mammography have increased mastectomies by 20%, the opposite of what screening promised Lead time bias: how a screening test can look life-saving on paper without changing when anyone actually dies The UK surgeon forced to resign for telling women the truth about mammogram screening Episode Timeline: 00:00 Introducing Ivy Harris and Done with Diligence 02:27 Why Ivy researched mammogram safety before her first screening 03:00 Going past the rumors to the actual breast cancer research 04:13 Her viral mammogram post and the backlash that followed 05:32 Standing firm on breast cancer screening controversy 07:39 Radiation risks: why a mammogram is a breast x-ray 09:12 The studies linking mammogram radiation to breast cancer 11:14 How radiation damages younger breast tissue 13:36 The math: 40 million mammograms and radiation-induced cancer deaths 17:59 Overdiagnosis and unnecessary breast cancer treatment 26:14 The train analogy for mammogram overdiagnosis 28:12 How breast cancer actually progresses versus the screening myth 32:29 The real harm of overdiagnosis and overtreatment 34:54 Why mammograms don't reduce all-cause breast cancer mortality 50:15 Lead time bias and misleading screening survival statistics 52:04 Michael Baum, saving breasts, and a Part 2 preview Resources Mentioned: American College of Physicians, Annals of Internal Medicine, April 2026: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-3424 Guest: Ivy Harris Where to find her: Done with Diligence & @donewithdiligence To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

150: The Trauma You Carried for Decades Could Be the Root of Your Disease with Dr. Aimie Apigian

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Dr. Aimie Apigian, a physician with a master's in biochemistry who left surgical training to study the biology of trauma after her own health collapsed. Together they make the case that unresolved trauma, including the kind you'd never check a box for, is not a side note to breast cancer but part of the terrain it grows in. This is the conversation conventional oncology skips entirely. Dr. Aimie didn't recognize her own trauma until it nearly destroyed her health. Raised to be her adopted father's emotional stability, she carried a burden she never named as trauma, until a failed adoption after six years left her with chronic fatigue she couldn't get out of bed from one month later. She knew the research linking adversity to disease. She still didn't see it in herself. If you've ever told yourself your childhood "wasn't that bad," this episode will give language to what your body already knows. What You'll Learn Why the women most likely to carry hidden trauma are the ones who'd swear they had a happy childhood What the famous ACE study found when it looked at wealthy women, and why it shocked the medical world Why trauma isn't a feeling you can think your way out of, but a physical loop your body keeps running What a review revealed about childhood adversity and breast cancer risk Why the state you were in before your diagnosis matters more than the diagnosis itself How to tell if your body is still holding trauma, without digging into your past Why feeling safe feels terrifying to a nervous system that survived on control How healing can start with just two seconds at a time Why no retreat or single psychedelic trip will do what small daily habits can Why most people start their trauma work in the wrong place, and pay for it Guest Dr. Aimie Apigian Where to find her: biologyoftrauma.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/draimie/ To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

149: Peter Attia Got Breast Cancer Screening Wrong, and Here's the Evidence

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons responds to Peter Attia's breast cancer screening episode (#396). Attia asks the right question: why are 42,000 women still dying of breast cancer every year? But his answer, more mammograms and MRI on top, is exactly wrong. Dr. Jenn breaks down, study by study, why that 40-year approach has never moved the death toll. Forty-two thousand women a year. That number has not moved since mammography went mainstream in the 1980s. Detection rates are up, diagnoses are up, and the death toll has not changed. We have been finding more cancer, calling more women patients, and watching the same number of them die. If you have ever scheduled your annual mammogram believing it was the most protective thing you could do, this episode will reframe everything you thought you knew. What You'll Learn Why the breast cancer death toll has not moved in 40 years, and why more screening is the reason Why DCIS is not cancer, why mammography invented it, and what happens to a woman the moment it gets labeled "stage zero" Why an aggressive tumor is aggressive from the day it forms, and why finding it earlier on a mammogram does not change what it does next Why mammography catches the cancers least likely to kill you, and routinely misses the ones that will What happened when researchers followed 89,835 women for 25 years and compared annual mammography to doing nothing, and why you have never heard about it What the Cochrane review found after analyzing every randomized mammography trial ever run, and why Peter Attia addressed it in one sentence Why the WISDOM trial, the most significant recent evidence in this space and the one study Attia never mentions, is an indictment of everything he argued Why there is no standard radiation dose for a mammogram, and why the woman next to you in the waiting room may have received ten times less than you did What the FDA has formally documented about gadolinium staying in the brain and bones for years, and why the women being told to get it every six months are the last women who should Why insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and toxic burden are among the most powerful drivers of breast cancer risk, and why Attia's episode contained zero mention of any of them Resources Mentioned Peter Attia, Episode 396 on breast cancer screening: peterattiamd.com/breastcancerscreening Dr. Robin Berzin, founder of Parsley Health Miller AB, et al. Twenty five year follow-up of the Canadian National Breast Screening Study. BMJ. 2014;348:g366. Gøtzsche PC, Jørgensen KJ. Screening for breast cancer with mammography. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;(6):CD001877. Zahl PH, et al. Results of the Two-County trial are not compatible with official Swedish breast cancer statistics. Danish Medical Bulletin. 2006;53(4):438–440. Nyström L, et al. Long-term effects of mammography screening: updated overview of the Swedish randomised trials. Lancet. 2002;359:909–19. Esserman LJ, et al. Risk-Based vs Annual Breast Cancer Screening: The WISDOM Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2026;335(9):763–774. FDA gadolinium-based contrast agent safety communications (2015, 2017, 2018), summarized in Fotenos A, FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee, Sept 2018. Kanda T, et al. High signal intensity in the dentate nucleus and globus pallidus and cumulative gadolinium dose. Radiology. 2014;270(3):834–841. Veenhuizen SGA, et al. Supplemental breast MRI for women with extremely dense breasts: DENSE trial. Radiology. 2021;299(2):278–286. Tabar L, et al. Reduction in mortality from breast cancer after mass screening with mammography. Lancet. 1985;325:829–32. To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

148: Overcoming Fear and Reclaiming the Life You Keep Putting Off with Erika Rothenberger

In this episode of Keeping Abreast Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with keynote speaker, author, and 2025 Dynamic Woman of the Year Erika Rothenberger for a conversation about what happens when life forces you to stop playing small. Erika had a day in 2022 that changed everything. What she did on the other side of it is what this conversation is about. Dr. Jenn and Erika get into the trauma we avoid, the life we keep deferring, and why the hardest moments tend to be the most clarifying ones. If you have ever survived something hard and wondered what you are supposed to do with it, this episode will give you your answer. In this episode, you'll learn: What Erika survived in 2022 and why she considers it the greatest turning point of her life Why playing it safe is the most dangerous thing a woman can do Why Dr. Jenn believes a breast cancer diagnosis can be an opportunity and what that actually looks like in practice The real reason most women never go after the life they want and why it has nothing to do with time, money, or circumstances Why the trauma you have been avoiding is not behind you. It is driving you. A simple daily method that takes 36 minutes and rebuilds your entire mindset from the ground up The science behind why the people you surround yourself with are either quietly lifting you or quietly costing you The gap in Pennsylvania law that leaves women unprotected and the legislation Erika is fighting to change Why the most powerful thing a woman can do for her health right now has nothing to do with her body Episode Timeline 01:07 Introducing Erika Rothenberger 03:09 Energy, seasons, and the permission to give 60% 06:56 Erika's story and the morning that changed everything 12:41 Playing small vs. playing large 16:36 Fear, inertia, and the life you keep putting off 19:45 Writing the book and going public with her story 27:32 Why healing is a choice you make every day 32:27 How to protect your time and fuel yourself first 35:35 Why no is a complete sentence 38:01 Finding the good in every setback 40:02 Why a breast cancer diagnosis can be its own kind of punch 43:00 Why your circle determines your ceiling 45:22 What Erika took away from watching Mel Robbins 50:57 The Audacious Summit, October 2025 52:45 Money, legacy, and what you are building 59:22 Finding your thing and going after it 1:05:44 Where to find Erika and closing thoughts Where to Find Find Erika Rothenberger: Website: erikarothenberger.com Instagram: @erikalearothenberger Book: Audacious Expansion To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

147: The Hidden Drivers of Alzheimer's Your Doctor Has Never Tested For with James Maskell

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with James Maskell, health economist, founder of the Evolution of Medicine, and the architect of a movement to reverse cognitive decline, to make the case that Alzheimer's is not a death sentence. It is a solvable problem that medicine has been approaching the wrong way for 40 years. James flew to South Africa when his father collapsed and was expected to die. Every doctor in the room was preparing the family for the end. James walked into his father's house and saw black mold on the wall. Days after moving his father out of that environment, he was opening his eyes. Two weeks later, the doctor declared he had no terminal illness at all. This is the episode to send to anyone who's been told a declining mind is the only end of the story. In This Episode, You'll Learn Why there is no effective drug for Alzheimer's and why 40 years of pharmaceutical research has been chasing the wrong target What the 6 root cause categories driving cognitive decline actually are and why they are the same ones driving breast cancer What the first randomized controlled trial on reversing Alzheimer's showed and why 91% of participants got better without a drug Why catching even a single point drop on a cognitive test can prevent full decline if you act on it immediately How biotoxins like mold can trigger what looks exactly like end stage Alzheimer's and how removing the cause reverses it Why loneliness and loss of purpose are not soft factors but measurable root causes of cognitive decline and breast cancer What the Blue Zones actually have in common and why it has nothing to do with supplements or technology Why community is one of the most powerful clinical interventions we have and how to start building it today Episode Timeline 00:00 Why Community Is the Most Powerful Clinical Intervention We Have 07:15 40 Years of Alzheimer's Drugs and Nothing to Show for It 12:57 Why Neurologists Are the Last Doctors to Accept This Science 18:23 The Myth That You Were Healthy Right Up Until Your Diagnosis 26:03 Catching Cognitive Decline Before It Becomes Alzheimer's 30:41 The 6 Root Cause Categories Driving Cognitive Decline and Breast Cancer 33:21 The Science Behind Why Your Social Circle Shapes Your Health Outcomes 37:41 How Retirement, Isolation, and Lost Purpose Are Fueling Chronic Disease 41:20 Trying to Change the System Is the Wrong Goal 45:51 Why the Chronic Disease Crisis Will Force the System to Collapse 53:10 How Real Health Change Starts at the Grassroots Level 59:08 Final Thoughts on Taking Your Health Back Where to Find James Maskell: Instagram: @mrjamesmaskell Website: jamesmaskell.com To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

146: Women Don't Get What They Deserve, They Get What They Ask For with Renee Marino

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Broadway star, bestselling author, and master communicator Renee Marino to make the case that self-advocacy is not a career skill, it is a health act. Renee went from five Broadway shows and a Clint Eastwood film to co-hosting Tony Robbins's global summits, and every door she walked through opened because she asked. She was the only actress in the entire Jersey Boys Broadway cast not called in to audition for the film because a middleman dropped the ball, and if she had not looked the casting director in the eye and asked for the role she was already playing eight shows a week, she would have watched herself be replaced on screen while Clint Eastwood waited for her to walk through a door she never knew was open. This is the episode for any woman who has ever left an interaction in work, the doctors office, or in their personal life feeling dismissed and said nothing. In This Episode, You'll Learn Why losing your voice shifts your body chemistry toward defeat and stress, and why Dr. Jenn calls speaking up a health tool, not just a mindset Why no agent, manager, or doctor will ever advocate for you as powerfully as you can advocate for yourself in the room What keyboard confidence is costing women in their health relationships and why a text is almost always the wrong tool for an important conversation The two questions to ask before hitting send on any message, post, or reply that actually changes how you communicate What breast cancer screening looks like when the technology is built to actually show you what is there, not flatten and irradiate you Episode Timeline: 00:00 Introduction to Renee Marino 04:10 The power of asking for what you want 06:50 Navigating Rejection 09:53 The Importance of Hard Work and Integrity 12:41 The Role of Communication in Success 15:15 The Journey to Becoming Mary Delgado 18:14 The Impact of Speaking Up 25:47 Speaking up as self-advocacy 31:39 Lessons from the kitchen table 37:37 Why she wrote Becoming a Master Communicator 40:05 The three communication homes 44:44 Balancing technology with real connection 47:47 Women, voice, and the difficult label 1:06:35 Experiencing breast screening that treats you like a person 1:12:08 Glam and Grit: an event built for real connection 1:14:45 Final thoughts and takeaways Where to Find Renee Marino: Instagram: @iamreneemarino Book: Becoming a Master Communicator To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

145: The Gut-Hormone Connection Every Woman Needs to Understand with Dr. Betsy Greenleaf

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Dr. Betsy Greenleaf, the first board-certified female urogynecologist in the world, to dismantle the lie that estrogen causes breast cancer, expose the hormone training gap hiding inside every OB/GYN office in the country, and explain why the online HRT explosion isn't liberation; it's the setup for the next Women's Health Initiative. At 41, Dr. Greenleaf was surgically menopausal, prescribed antidepressants for symptoms her doctors blamed on hormones, and living with a lupus diagnosis she'd carried since age 18. When she stopped treating the symptoms and started treating her gut microbiome, the mood swings resolved, the immune dysfunction cleared, and the lupus markers that had defined her health for decades simply disappeared. The conventional medical system had no framework for what happened to her so she went looking for one. If you've ever been handed a hormone prescription with no questions asked, or been told your labs look "normal" while you feel anything but, this episode will give language to what you've already suspected. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your gynecologist, urologist, and endocrinologist almost certainly received zero formal training in sex hormones Why only 23% of residents finishing training today feel prepared to treat midlife women How chronic stress hijacks your sex hormones and converts them straight to cortisol Why when tens of millions of women stopped HRT after the Women's Health Initiative, breast cancer rates went up, not down Why estrogen is not cancerous and why progestins are a different story entirely How 90% of your serotonin and 80% of your immune system live in your gut Why putting a 20-something on testosterone is masking the real problem The five lactobacillus strains that actually rebalance the vaginal microbiome and why most probiotics don't contain them Why no probiotic will work until the tissue itself is healthy and the full menu of options that can fix it How the brain-gut-vagina connection drives libido, and why testosterone is rarely the answer for low sex drive Episode Timeline 00:00 Introduction to Urogynecology and Dr. Betsy Greenleaf 03:48 Awakening to Functional Medicine 06:34 The Importance of Gut Health 08:14 Training Gaps in Hormonal Health 11:09 The Dangers of Hormone Mismanagement 14:00 Stress and Hormonal Balance 16:46 The Role of Lifestyle in Hormonal Health 19:21 The Fear of Hormones and Cancer 21:55 Understanding Estrogen and Cancer Risks 24:01 The Holistic Approach to Health 28:38 Integrative Medicine and Continuous Learning 31:30 The Role of Tools in Health Management 34:19 The Shift from Conventional to Holistic Medicine 37:15 Understanding Microbiomes: Gut and Vaginal Health 40:05 The Interconnection of Health Systems 43:58 Intimacy and Libido: The Psychological and Physical Connection 50:38 Navigating Midlife Symptoms and Hormonal Health 53:33 Innovations in Health Tracking and Patient Empowerment Where to find Dr. Betsy Greenleaf: Website: pauseinstitute.com Instagram: instagram.com/drbetsygreenleaf To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

144: The Overdiagnosis Epidemic Hiding Inside Every Annual Mammogram

In this solo episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons takes on one of the most accepted messages in women's health and dismantles it with decades of evidence. Routine yearly mammography screening does not hold up when you actually read the trials. Dr. Jenn walks through the WISDOM trial, the Cochrane Review, the Canadian Breast Cancer Screening Study, and the brand new 2026 American College of Physicians guidelines to make the case that one-size-fits-all screening is not just outdated, it is causing real harm. She also takes on the estrogen myth that has left millions of women suffering through hot flashes, bone loss, brain fog, and lost quality of life for decades. A 1.8 million woman study and the Women's Health Initiative say estrogen is not the villain. The real culprit may be something millions of women are still being prescribed today. If you have ever been told to just get your mammogram every year without a single conversation about the risks or what the data actually shows, this is the episode you have been waiting for. What You'll Learn What the 2026 American College of Physicians guidelines say about annual mammography and why radiology groups do not want you to hear it What the WISDOM trial found when women received fewer mammograms and why the results challenge everything we have been told What the Cochrane Review and Canadian Breast Cancer Screening Study concluded after studying hundreds of thousands of women over decades Why up to 50 percent of screen-detected cancers may have never grown, spread, or threatened a woman's life and what that means for how we treat them Why estrogen alone has never been shown to cause breast cancer and what the data actually implicates instead The difference between synthetic progestins and bioidentical progesterone and why that distinction could change every conversation about hormones and breast cancer What BRCA mutation carriers need to know about hormone replacement therapy after risk-reducing surgery What smarter, safer, individualized breast cancer screening actually looks like Episode Timeline 00:00 Introduction 01:08 This Is an Informed Consent Episode 04:00 The WISDOM Trial and the End of One-Size-Fits-All Screening 08:30 Fewer Mammograms, No More Advanced Cancers 11:41 Why Adding MRI Led to More Biopsies and Zero Benefit 15:00 The Only Endpoint That Actually Matters 17:30 What the Cochrane Review Actually Found 19:30 The Number Every Woman Deserves to Hear 23:00 The Canadian Breast Cancer Screening Study 27:00 What Overdiagnosis Really Means 31:00 The 2026 American College of Physicians Guidelines 36:03 The Estrogen Myth 41:00 The Women's Health Initiative Unpacked 49:00 Birth Control, Progestins, and Breast Cancer Risk 53:00 Progestins Are Not Progesterone 57:00 BRCA Mutation Carriers and HRT: What the 2026 JAMA Data Shows 01:03:00 The Future of Breast Cancer Screening Studies Mentioned in This Episode The WISDOM Trial — JAMA The Cochrane Mammography Review — Cochrane The Canadian National Breast Screening Study: 25 Year Follow-up — BMJ 2014 ACP Breast Cancer Screening Guidance Statement — Annals of Internal Medicine 2026 Cracks in the Estrogen Carcinogenesis of Breast Cancer — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 Hormonal Contraception and Breast Cancer Risk — NEJM 2017 Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Breast Cancer: Women's Health Initiative — JAMA Oncology 2020 HRT After Oophorectomy and Breast Cancer Risk in BRCA Carriers — JAMA Network Open 2026 To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

143: The 5 Thyroid Tests That Change Everything and Why Your Doctor Only Runs One with Dr. Amie Hornaman

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with thyroid and hormone specialist Dr. Amie Hornaman to dismantle the standard of care that is leaving millions of women dismissed, misdiagnosed, and under treated. They cover what the full thyroid panel actually looks like, why T4-only therapy fails the vast majority of patients, and how the thyroid is connected to every other hormone system in a woman's body. What happens when a competitive athlete starts gaining weight, losing hair, and can't get a single doctor to take her seriously? Dr. Amie found out in her 20s with 40 pounds of unexplained weight gain, six doctors, six dismissals, and one mentor who finally ran the right tests and changed the course of her life and career. If you've ever been told your thyroid is fine while your body is telling you otherwise, this is the episode you've been waiting for. What You'll Learn Why testing TSH alone is not a thyroid workup and what the five markers are that actually tell the full story What free T3, free T4, and reverse T3 mean and why reverse T3 is the most dismissed marker in the panel What thyroid antibodies TPO and TGA reveal about Hashimoto's and why your doctor's normal range is meaningless Why 95% of hypothyroid cases are Hashimoto's and why your antibodies may already be elevated even if your doctor says they are not Why your GLP-1 will stop working if your thyroid is not optimized first How estrogen dominance low progesterone high cortisol insulin resistance and low ferritin all interfere with thyroid function Why your insurance-based doctor cannot give you proper thyroid care even if they want to What the FDA's move against natural desiccated thyroid is really about and who benefits Why testosterone is protective against breast cancer and why women are being denied access to it What it actually feels like when your thyroid is optimized and how Dr. Amie gets patients there Episode Timeline: 00:00 Show Intro 01:08 How Dr. Amie Became Dr. Jenn's North Star 05:02 Pain to Purpose: 40 Pounds and Six Dismissals 08:37 Where Conventional Medicine Gets It Wrong 16:58 Why Thyroid Disease Is at Epidemic Levels 19:14 The Full Thyroid Panel You Actually Need 36:43 Why T4-Only Therapy Fails Almost Everyone 40:27 The Hormonal Web Nobody Is Addressing 45:32 What Thyroid Optimization Actually Looks Like 52:22 The FDA Threat to Natural Desiccated Thyroid 59:42 Dr. Jenn's Testosterone Gatekeeping Story 01:05:22 The Importance of Prevention in Healthcare Find Dr. Amie Hornaman Website: dramie.com | Book: thyroidfixbook.com To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

142: Mammograms Don't Save Lives And the Data Has Known It for Decades

In this solo episode, Dr. Jenn Simmons delivers a five-alarm wake-up call on breast cancer screening. The American College of Physicians just dropped new guidelines and the radiology world is furious, not because the science is wrong, but because it isn't on their side. Dr. Jenn breaks down what the data actually shows, why mammography's survival benefit has been a statistical illusion for decades, and what real preventive screening looks like. She also takes on DCIS, collagen fears, and the question every woman with a breast cancer history is afraid to ask about hormones. Every woman deserves this information before she makes a decision, not after. What You'll Learn Why DCIS is not breast cancer and what the data says about over treating it What the new ACP mammography screening guidelines say and why the radiology world responded with opinion instead of evidence How lead time bias and over diagnosis have made mammography look like a lifesaver when it isn't What the Wisdom Trial revealed about personalized breast cancer screening and why the results make annual mammogram guidelines indefensible What preventive breast cancer screening actually looks like without radiation, compression, or harm Why collagen supplementation has no association with breast cancer risk or recurrence Why bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is not off the table after a breast cancer diagnosis. Why you need to tread the root cause and treat the tumor To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons

141: The Hormone They Told You to Fear Is the One That Could Change Your Life with Karen Martel

In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with hormone specialist Karen Martel to talk about what's really driving the metabolic chaos of perimenopause and menopause and why the solution most women need is the one they've been told to fear. They also tackle one of the most misunderstood topics in women's health: the relationship between estrogen, metabolic health, and breast cancer. What happens when a nutrition expert who helps women lose weight suddenly can't lose weight herself? Karen found out the hard way at 42, gaining 15 pounds in six months, losing her period, battling depression, and watching her skin age before her eyes. Despite eating clean, exercising, and doing everything "right," her body had other plans. This is the episode you'll want to send to every woman in your life who's been told her labs look "fine." What You'll Learn Why you can gain weight in perimenopause without changing your diet or exercise routine The biological aging study that found perimenopausal women are aging faster on the inside and what stops it Why estrogen is the metabolic master hormone and what happens to your hunger signals, blood sugar, cholesterol, and muscle when it drops Why being asymptomatic in perimenopause does not mean nothing is happening to your heart, brain, and bones Why it is never too late to start hormone replacement therapy Why insulin and insulin-like growth factor may be driving estrogen receptor positive breast cancer more than anyone is talking about Why women with a history of breast cancer are not automatically disqualified from hormone replacement therapy and why most doctors have it wrong How GLP-1s are changing the game for menopausal women The truth about breast cancer, estrogen receptors, and why insulin may be a bigger driver than anyone is talking about Episode Timeline: 01:07 Meet Karen Martel 04:10 Karen's Personal Perimenopause Wake-Up Call 09:09 Why You Cannot Out-Diet or Out-Exercise Hormone Loss 17:21 What Estrogen Actually Does in the Body 25:12 HRT Delivery Methods and Why Form Matters 26:28 Breast Cancer, Estrogen Receptors, and the Insulin Connection 33:48 The Vaginal Estrogen Contradiction 37:08 Estrogen as the Most Powerful Anti-Aging Tool 38:56 The Pharmaceutical Incentive Behind the Anti-Hormone Narrative 44:35 Menopausal Weight Gain and Where GLP-1s Fit In 53:13 Is It Ever Too Late to Start Hormone Replacement 59:39 Women Deserve Better Standards of Care 1:02:06 The Statistics That Should End the Debate 1:05:38 Topical Estrogen and Why Ingredients Matter Find Karen Martel Website: karenmartel.com To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide Connect with Dr. Jenn: Website: https://www.perfeqtionimaging.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons