Midi Health launches dedicated program for women with history of breast cancer
First of its kind, evidence-based program created and overseen by leading experts in midlife women's health and oncology
Women’s virtual care clinic Midi Health has announced the launch of an industry-first program aimed at providing cutting-edge, expert menopause care for breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for breast cancer.
Midi’s ‘Survivorship Program’ offers treatment options, advice and counselling, all based on the latest expert research. Patients receive a personalised treatment plan, overseen by specialised clinicians who work with a patient’s existing medical team to ensure truly integrated care.
The program has been developed and is led by Midi’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Mindy Goldman, who is also a Clinical Professor in the Department of OB/GYN at UC San Francisco and founder of UCSF's Gynecology Center for Cancer Survivors and At-Risk Women.
Dr Goldman explained:
"Because of mistaken and outdated thinking around hormone therapy and risk factors for breast cancer, far too many women needlessly suffer through symptoms of midlife hormonal change without getting the relief and care they deserve.”
"But the good news is that there are so many safe options available to help all women, even those with a personal history of breast cancer, live a fulfilling and active life beyond menopause. We have dedicated a whole team to staying abreast of the latest studies on new medications, clinical trials and other relevant research and designing state-of-the-art protocols for this population."
Confusion surrounds hormone therapy and breast cancer risk
Misunderstandings around hormone therapy (HT) and breast cancer risk can be traced back to initial findings from the 2002 Women's Health Initiative study that have now largely been debunked.
Later data from the same study showed that estrogen actually decreases the risk of breast cancer, and the initial findings are now thought to have resulted from the type of progesterone used alongside estrogen. Newer formulations of progesterone are now used and may not raise the risk of breast cancer at all, according to more recent studies.
However, this newer reassuring data on HT and breast cancer risk has not reached a wide swath of the general public. Latest data shows less than 2% of women over 40 are taking hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms – a huge drop from the 40% of women who used HT before the now largely debunked WHI study.
In particular, breast cancer survivors, "pre-vivors" (defined as those with a genetic mutation who have not been diagnosed with cancer) and those with a family history of cancer generally believe they cannot use any hormonal therapies, or other medical interventions, for the symptoms of peri/menopause. Many doctors reinforce that all hormones are off-limits for breast cancer survivors, and generally are unaware of the many non-hormonal treatments.
Midi CEO and co-founder Joanna Strober said:
"We are excited to be the first company of our kind to dive deep into this kind of personalised care, investing in research and development of evidence-based protocols specifically designed to address this higher-risk population of women and ensure they get the care they need and deserve.
"With this launch, Midi becomes the first and only virtual care clinic dedicated to providing personalised menopause treatment to all women – including cancer survivors and those at risk."