157: The Controversial History of Hormone Therapy: How Fear Shaped Women's Health

157: The Controversial History of Hormone Therapy: How Fear Shaped Women's Health

From Confessions of a Male Gynecologist by Shawn Tassone MD PhD

January 8, 2026 · 40 min · Episode 157

About this episode

Dr. Shawn Tassone explores the controversial history of hormone replacement therapy and its impact on women's health.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has become one of the most misunderstood, and controversial, topics in women's health. In this episode, Dr. Shawn Tassone takes a deep dive into how we got here and why so much of what women have been told about hormones simply doesn't hold up. Dr. Tassone unpacks the complicated history of HRT, including the lasting fallout from the Women's Health Initiative study and how its misinterpretation shaped decades of fear-based medical decision-making. He addresses persistent myths linking estrogen to breast cancer, challenges outdated assumptions, and explains why hormones were never the villain they were made out to be. This conversation goes beyond the science. Dr. Tassone also critiques the modern hormone industry, calling out profit-driven practices, poor education, and the ongoing failure of the medical system to prioritize women's long-term health. At its core, this episode is a call for clarity, context, and compassion — because women deserve better than fear, confusion, and half-truths when it comes to their bodies. Episode Highlights: Why hormones remain one of the most misunderstood topics in medicine How the Women's Health Initiative study…

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