Menopause Symptoms in Healthy Women & Breast Cancer Patients: Hadine Joffe, MD

Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc, Brigham and Women's Hospital has been trying to figure out the common menopause symptoms and how to treat them. As a psychiatrist and considering her vested interest in the brain manifestations of hormone changes, some of the symptoms she focuses on are hot flashes, sleep, and mood.

She understood there were different causes in symptoms; while in healthy women the causes were largely related to hormones, the symptoms in breast cancer patients often manifested as a result of some of the treatments they take.

Joffe did explain at The North American Menopause Society 27th Annual Meeting (NAMS) that although there are a number of causes, all of them are treatable, and the first step for patients is to have an open dialogue with their providers.