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E108
December 02, 2025
Can't Take Estrogen? Dr. Corinne Menn on Who Can, Who Can't & What's Changed
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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.

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Chapters

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

About the guest

Dr. Corinne Menn

Dr. Corinne Menn is a board certified OBGYN with over 20 years of experience and certified menopause practitioner with the Menopause Society. She has dedicated her medical practice to focusing on menopause management, the unique health care needs of female cancer survivors and those at high risk for breast cancer.

Dr. Menn is also an over 20 year survivor of breast cancer and premature menopause, using her personal experience as a patient along with her professional training to help women navigate their own health challenges.  She is a dedicated advocate and volunteer for the Young Survival Coalition, serving on their Council of Advisors for Patient Education and leading their Provider-Survivor Support Group. She also serves on the Breast Cancer Alliance Research Grant Committee and  through her work with YSC and the BCA helps raise awareness on managing  collateral damages of breast cancer treatment and premature menopause.