My challenge is a little different. The goal is to swim 10 km in August to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Why? Over the years, my dad had prostate cancer, then melanoma, and eventually died from colorectal cancer. My sister has had thyroid cancer. My grandpa died of lung cancer and my grandma of breast cancer. My best friend from university died of ovarian cancer.
Far too many other friends have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer. Some have survived. I would like fewer friends to have it in the first place, and all of them to survive.
I’m swimming whenever I get the chance: at my pool between shifts, at my cottage, at a small private lake where I have been invited as a guest. If the weather holds today, I’ll be doing short swims in all four of the open water river spots maintained by the NCC in Ottawa.
My Strava map from a swim at my friend’s lake; me at the pool where I work after a quick swim; my friend Florence and I midway through exploring the little lake at my cottage.
I still have 4 km to swim. There is still time to sponsor me and help the Cancer Society achieve its $400,000 goal (it’s currently at $309,000). You can do so here. Thanks!
NOTE: a number of the articles cited have paywalls, so I linked them to open archive.is sites. You can click and get there from here…
For decades (well, centuries, really), menopause was not considered a topic for discussion, much less an issue to be addressed medically for half the world’s population that goes through it. Menopause brings with it a lot of physical and emotional changes and health risks that have not been acknowledged, understood or treated. Women have had to suffer with little or no support. No news there.
Fast-forward (very fast–past the development, backlash, misinformation and correction periods for the use of hormone replacement therapy — HRT; read more about it here and here) to now: 2026.
Menopause and perimenopause are now the hot topics for social media influencers, podcasters, writers, and telehealth companies. You can look here for a list of the top 70 (Why 70? no idea) “menopause influencers of 2026”. Tressie McMillan Cottom, social scientist and NY Times critic wrote here last month “Ladies, we’re entering our Crone era. It’s about time.”
Our society’s approach to menopause and perimenopause reflects the deep flaws of a health system that has long treated women as an afterthought. Consider the staggering fact that, according to one survey, less than a third of American OB-GYN residency programs offer a menopause curriculum of any kind.
We need a menopause revolution in this country. Better training is an obvious place to start. By including menopause care in both foundational and continuing education for health care practitioners, we can equip more of them to support their patients. Medical schools and residencies need to embed menopause care in their curriculums, and accreditation bodies and licensing boards need to make it a required part of training — not just for OB-GYNs, but for anyone who treats women in midlife.
And Cottom readily concurs, pointing out the intersectional health disparities experienced by non-white women:
Unfortunately, those greater expectations [of increased research and clinical care] have not necessarily resulted in a consistent, effective women’s health care system. Most women experiencing menopausal symptoms still do not receive any medical treatment for them. As is often true, that bad news is even worse for Hispanic and Black women. Despite entering menopause earlier and having more health-related consequences (like fibroids), Black and Hispanic women are least likely to have medical support for menopausal symptoms.
So, isn’t it a good thing that the podcasters and the social influencers are spreading the word? Isn’t it a win for healthcare equity and access that telehealth companies are offering a variety of new treatments and approaches to managing the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause?
Well, it’s complicated.
But with research and training and actual interest in women’s health and well-being, it needn’t be so complicated. By Jon T for Unsplash.
In a JAMA Women’s Health article from last month (newsflash: JAMA started a Women’s Health journal. In September 2025. Uh, better late than never?) Kate Schweitzer writes that the “explosion of products and providers following decades of neglect represents a long-overdue investment—a gold rush fueled by growing awareness and demand for better care.” But, she warns that it has”created a rocky menopause landscape akin to the lawlessness of the Wild West, in which bold claims often reach patients before clinical evidence does.”
I couldn’t agree more. We are being pummeled with ads for products that promise no more hot flashes, less fatigue and brain fog, easier and better sex, and (Content Warning here) even no weight gain (as if that’s the worst thing that can happen to a 40- or 50-something year-old woman).
Using another favorite Wild West theme, Stephanie Faubion, MD, MBA, medical director of the Menopause Society and director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health, cautions us:
“The pipeline has expanded significantly, and that’s a good thing,” Faubion said. “But you have to consider when it’s not actually creating value for these women.…You’ve got a lot of people out there selling snake oil, too.”
Wikipedia image of 19th-century snake oil.Snakes IN oil, not to be confused with the former.
I’m happy to report that snake oil was outlawed after the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 (thanks, Wikipedia, for the info!), but for reasons way above my pay grade, not in my area of expertise and utterly beyond my ken, current US telehealth companies are not regulated such that we can trust that the products they market are 1) tested; 2) effective, or 3) safe.
Hence the Wild Wild West talk.
If you’re interested in a deeper dive into current and emerging interventions for menopause, read the JAMA article; it’s got evidence-based information on what we do and do not know about them.
Here’s my bullet-list takeaway:
In addition to the much-tested HRT, there are compounded hormones, testosterone therapy, and loads of untested supplements on the market.
Influencers are out there extolling the virtues of every potion you can imagine, backed by slim to no evidence.
Telehealth is offering to fill the gaps created by lack of access to primary care, offering similar potions from non-medically-trained folks with little to no evidence basis.
Dr. Nanette Santoro, an investigator on many studies over decades with the Women’s Health Initiative, summed it up: “What this [boom in menopause treatment products] does is it tells people, ‘You can get ahead of this curve,’” she said. “But because we don’t have enough good evidence, it’s really saying that you are being part of an experiment.”
All I’m saying is, watch your back out there, okay, pardners?
With researchers and clinicians sidelined by lack of evidence, the influencer and telehealth gunslingers are everywhere. Watch your backs.
Here’s the short version of this post: It’s ok to give yourself the movement, the peace of mind, and the rest that you need.
I know this is not the first time I have given you (or myself) this advice but since I always need reminders about this stuff then I assume you do, too.
So, to reiterate:
Whenever you can, please, please, please, give yourself the things you need.
If you need rest, then please get some rest
And please do that in a way that lets you meet your needs the best way you can in your current situation.
Resting doesn’t have to mean taking a nap (but a nap is great if you are able to take one!) It can mean resting in small increments, taking some deep breaths, pausing between tasks, choosing to limit the scope of some tasks, doing some yoga or stretching, or picking a restorative activity.
If your thoughts are feeling tangled and you need to meditate or journal then please meditate or journal.
And please do those things in the way that meets your needs.
Journaling doesn’t have to be pen on paper, it can be typing on a screen or drawing on an envelope or using voice to text or creating a collage or anything else that makes your thoughts more tangible and organizable for you.
Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting still (but that type of mindfulness is totally cool.) It can mean colouring, or doing walking meditation, or drawing a series of small lines, or doing a task with great care. It’s more about the nature of your attention than the specific activities involved.
If you need to get moving, then please get moving.
And please do that in the way that meets your needs.
If you need intense exercise, then push yourself hard in whichever ways are available to you right now.
If you need slow movement, then take your time.
If you need to lift heavy, lift heavy. If you need to lift light, lift light.
And please don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to doing some sort of established routine. It’s totally ok to put on some music and flail around like a fish that got washed up on the beach. It’s totally ok to head to the playground and swing on the swings. It’s totally ok to do squats while you watch TV. And it’s totally ok to stretch while you talk to a friend.
As long as your movement meets your needs, then forge ahead.
If you need something, then please do what you can to meet that need.
Even if you feel you *shouldn’t* (I still hate that word!) need it.
In fact, ESPECIALLY if you feel you shouldn’t need it.
Your needs matter.
You matter.
And if you need some sort of permission before meeting those needs – in whatever way you are able to meet them at the moment – then consider that permission granted.
I may not be the boss of you but I am perfectly willing to boss you into being kind to yourself.
(Yes, I *am* the oldest sister, how did you guess?)
So, Team, please, please, please take good care of yourselves out there.
And here is your gold star for your efforts to meet your needs – whatever they happen to look like right now.
Go Team Us!
This little gold star cheered me right up. If you have a minute, draw yourself a gold star – you won’t regret it!
Image description: a drawing of a cartoonish gold star with a happy face on it. The drawing is on a piece of white index card and the background behind the star includes a bunch of small marks (some dots and some are a little more like lines) and five short lines that are near each point on the star like it is either glistening or in motion. The piece of index card is propped up between the keys on my computer keyboard which is black with white letters.
I’m a feminist scholar, a fitness blogger, and a dean of a college of arts. So naturally, I end up thinking about the ways in which art and health fit together.
In the past month two women in my family have fallen. They didn’t hurt themselves seriously, nothing broken, but we’ve all been thinking a lot more about falling and how to fall well since those falls happened.
I’ve also been missing Aikido and the falling on mats, that’s part of martial arts training. It’s one of the things I love about Aikido. When I was training regularly I thought it would be fun to offer seniors classes in Aikido that were focused on the falling part.
Lately classes on falling for seniors have been showing up in my social media newsfeeds and I want to share them here with you.
It’s summer but it’s also the middle of August and Sarah and I are getting ready to return to our usual routines. We start meeting with our personal trainer again on Tuesday and we’ll be back to lifting heavy things in the gym.
But being away from the gym doesn’t mean we haven’t been lifting.
Just today we emptied out our shed, it’s full of some pretty heavy storage bins. But we needed to find some bins belonging to one of the adult kids.
We also put our canoe away since our next trip isn’t until the fall.
I like the deliberate and careful lifting in the gym because it makes things like this possible.
It started as a tiny spot above my right eyebrow about a year ago. At first I thought it was a recurring blocked pore.
Over time the dot grew into an uneven mole. I kept checking it. It was growing, slowly, but constantly. I decided I’d take the time to get it looked at when I retired.
Taking Action
It took a month to find an appointment with one of the new doctors at my family doctor’s clinic as my guy is retiring and working part time. I choose the same new doctor I had seen last year to get continuity of care.
Validation
My appointment was at the end of May. My new doctor had a look and she agreed the mole should be removed because it was changing, had ill defined boundaries and different colours.
I was relieved. I was prepared to be told I was worrying for no reason. Since faces are tricky to biopsy, she referred me to a clinic specializing in dermatology and facial surgery.
“If you don’t hear from anyone in a month call us and let us know.”
Waiting
I marked the date in my calendar. In three weeks my doctor’s clinic called to check in. Since I hadn’t heard from the original referral my doctor sent out multiple requests and asked me to let them know when I heard from anyone. This would allow them to cancel the outstanding referrals.
Moving forward
A week later I got a call from a clinic minutes from my home. The Attending physician was going on holiday but he wanted to see me right away. I got an appointment within 3 days. I let the referring clinic know I had an appointment.
Punch Biopsy
I showed up and found out it was a teaching clinic and I was so happy. Maybe it is watching The Pitt or living in a university town but I’m thrilled to see the next generation of doctors in action.
The Resident had a medical Student with her. They took time to explain their analysis. They too agreed the mole should be removed. I was informed of all aspects of the procedure. I felt confident that a punch biopsy was the right choice.
The Resident left the room to confer with her Attending. They both came in and all 3, the Attending, Resident and Student looked at my mole, palpated it and discussed it.
“I’m a 4 or a 5 of worried out of 10. Not extremely worried but a little to a bit.”
That was enough for me to feel confident getting this off my face was the right decision.
Quick Action
The prep, freezing, biopsy and single stitch took less than 10 minutes.
I went back a week later to have my stitch removed. Another week later I got a call saying my pathology report was ready. I opted for an in person rather than a phone call. I’m glad I did.
Outcome
In my mind there were 3 outcomes:
1 – no cancer, no further action
2 -Basal Cell or Squamous Cell cancer with a clear margin, no further action
3 – some type of melanoma, lots of further action required
Turns out there was a fourth option. The pathology report confirmed it was a Basal Cell Carcinoma and the sample had clear margins.
The Resident took time to examine the site and palpate the edges. She left to confer with the Attending. They both returned and re-examined the biopsy site. The Attending did not like the edge on one side and recommended freezing with liquid nitrogen, aka cryotherapy, to get rid of any suspicious skin cells the same day.
Cryotherapy
I have to say, the freezing was daunting since the site was so near my eye. After 4 rounds the Resident was satisfied all offending cells would slough off.
The Waiting Game
I get to go back in 3 months for a follow up to see if any other interventions are needed.
Thankful
The next day my family doctor’s staff called me for an update. I let them know I had two procedures to remove the mole and the diagnosis. I also asked to pass on my thanks to my doctor. Her following up on the referral and having a sense of urgency meant I got timely treatment.
I’m so grateful for the excellent care I got both from my family doctor and the whole team at the teaching clinic. Total cost to me? Zero dollars. Even the parking was free.
In the end it was 4 months from the moment I decided to take action until I had the results of the biopsy and a full resolution of my chief complaint.
Wait times in our universal healthcare system are often criticized but I have found that when urgency is needed the staff find a way.
Next steps
So now what?
An image of a note that says “don’t skip the sunscreen”
Wear sunscreen. Wear a hat. Limit time in the sun in the afternoon.
I have not always been good about wearing sunscreen. I feel properly motivated to do it now.
Better late than never!
Hey you!
A finger pointing from the page to you.
Ya. You. If you see a mole on you or someone else that is changing get it checked out. Don’t wait. If my diagnosis had been a more rapidly growing cancer I might be having a very different outcome because of my reluctance to get it looked at.
Long run day on Sunday. Strength training on Monday and Friday. Strength/conditioning Tuesday or Wednesday. Another run on Thursday before work. That’s my typical exercise schedule. Plus, usually 15,000-20,000 steps/day.
What will change while I am on vacation? Where will I fit in my sanity sessions? I mean, the main goal for a vacation is to get away from the daily grind. For me, even with the enticement of a new vista, good food and relaxing vibes with my husband, I want to ensure my vacation routine allows for fitness breaks.
My husband and I choose vacation spots where we know we are likely to walk everywhere and that ensures there will be built-in fitness. As a runner, it’s always a little exciting to see where my jaunts will take me in a different landscape. Sometimes, I’ll take advantage of a hotel’s exercise room for some strength training, but I realized on our way to Quebec City that the hotel I picked for our trip doesn’t have an exercise room.
The night before our train trip from Toronto to Quebec City (11 hours, including an hour changeover in Montreal), we went to see the Foo Fighters. It was a great concert, complete with picture-perfect summer stadium vibes and dancing with great company. I was in a great mood at the concert but, then on the way home I felt a bit melancholy. Pre-trip jitters (for various reasons, I wasn’t going to believe we were getting out of town for some fun, until we did)? Hormones? Residual grief? Who knows.
Between the time we got home from the concert to the time we had to leave for the train station in the morning, I only slept for 2.5 hours. They were not a refreshing 2.5 hours because I was worried about sleeping through my alarm.
I knew it would be a long train day with little movement, so I had gone for a 5k the morning before. I got up every once in awhile on the train to move, whether I had to pee or not, I wanted to move my legs when I could. I had prepared wholesome food to bring on the train. Homemade date/nut bars/breakfast sandwiches. By the time we arrived in Quebec City, after a 12 hour trip, we were still famished, tired and dehydrated. I brought neck pillows, in hopes of some upright slumber, but I still haven’t mastered the art of on-transport sleeping.
After walking uphill from the train station to our hotel in old Quebec City, showering and changing, we walked to a place we had already made reservations for dinner – Nina Pizza which was some of the best pizza I’ve had in a long time. Who knows if the lead up and scenery led to that determination, but it was a perfect ‘za (and Caesar salad). It had a perfect crust – just the right amount of char on bottom with a slight creamy quality. The tomato sauce was the kind that I find hard to find — as if someone strained fresh, sun-grown tomatoes on a grater and added just the perfect seasoning to enhance the tomato flavour, along with simple roasted eggplant and divinely stretchy cheese.
Here are my notes about fitness from my time in Quebec City:
First morning in Quebec City. Slept well but tired. Body tired. Decided not to jog yet. There will be a lot of walking and need to listen to body. I did some stretches in the hotel room before coffee and ferry to Levis. Stretches often include standard seated hip hinges, runner’s lunges, down-dog calf movements.
My Garmin watch sleep stats alerted me to the “stress” portion during the first part of my sleep that first night. I have never seen this noted while sleeping. After noticing it a couple times on this trip, some light investigating informed me this can be due to lack of sleep, too much caffeine, one glass of wine. I regularly drink coffee and have never noticed this before. I rarely drink alcohol these days. I had two drinks in 5 days this trip. I’m guessing the stats had more to do with lack of sleep and midlife stress. I’ll keep an eye on it to see if it shows up again at home.
On our first full day in QC, I walked 33000 (hilly) steps. We took a ferry to Levis and walked around there and up these beautiful red stairs. We headed back to Quebec City, up the funiculaire and continued walking all over old Quebec. Plains of Abraham. Montcalm neighbourhood. We even stayed out and talked to locals and caught a magnificent fireworks display on the waterfront. I slept walked the 10 min back to the hotel after the fireworks.
On our second day, I stretched again, did a few push-ups and jumping jacks, in the room, before heading out for a slow 4.5 km discovery jog along the Plains of Abraham. Then we walked the rest of the day, both in Quebec City and, went on a little excursion to Hotel Musee Premieres-nations. where, after taking in the museum and grounds, took advantage of very comfortable lounge chairs for a brief nap under a canopy of maple trees. We also enjoyed a forest walk which incorporates Wendat culture and a light show in the dark forest, here: https://onhwalumina.ca/en/
On Day 3, I thought about going for a jog, but decided against it. My body felt tired. We walked the 15 min walk to the coffee shop we found in the Montcalm area the day before. Then we picked up some cheese, bread and fruit from the little mall in that area and headed to the Plains of Abraham for a little picnic in park. Then we walked some more. More stairs. I decided I needed to lie on the grass. Gavin climbed a tower (sightseeing), and I laid on a park bench, looked at the sky and then did some stretching. It felt like an active rest day. Then we ventured to a live jazz club in the evening, conveniently located within a 5 min walk from our hotel. Even with the “active rest day”, I still managed to get in almost 30,000 steps.
On Day 5, it was time to stretch before heading to the long train ride home.
I noticed on this trip that overall, I felt more tired. Was it all the steps? The average 30 degree temperature (it was hotter in NYC several years ago and we walked just as much, and, I don’t remember feeling this tired). While this trip included it’s share of R&R, I find myself thinking about where I can take a few naps and maybe get a massage in the coming days. Oh, and, back to my usual fitness routine.
Nicole P. is a creature of habit and looking forward to regular routine.
Back in 2022, Dr Sheree Bekker, who researches gender and sport, said “Non-binary people are not a problem in women’s sport. They are meant to distract us from the real issues facing women’s sport. The medicalization of women in sport for what is perceived as the legitimate female athletes has harmed all female athletes.”
Thankfully, the historical fencing and armoured combat sports my friends enjoy have not been infected with transphobia. That’s my friend Lynette, a woman of trans medical history on the left, fencing another woman. She’s a really good fencer, but she’s not invincible. (Photos used with permission from Lynette)
Now in 2026, we are really seeing what Dr Bekker predicted.
In March, the International Olympic Committee announced a new policy that “Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.” It was not supposed to apply to grassroots and recreational sports programs.
In June, the US Supreme Court ruled that State bans on transgender athletes in female school and college sports are allowed, despite Title IX, which bans sex-based discrimination in schools. Twenty-seven states now have bans on transgender participation in school athletics.
Shortly afterwards, the Heritage Foundation—the right-wing think tank—published a report calling for the rollback of the Title IX protections that have driven the explosion in popularity of women’s sports in the USA.
You can read the full paper for yourself, but one key point for me is that schools should be allowed to “accommodate sex differences” by replacing competitive women’s sports opportunities with “cheerleading, dance, yoga, hiking clubs, recreational intramurals, and other athletic opportunities more aligned with average female interests and tendencies.”
I have no issue with any of those activities, but do not appreciate them being considered “more aligned with average female interests and tendencies.” In fact, I see them as mostly welcoming spaces for all genders. My university cheerleading team had male cheerleaders when I started there way back in 1980. Dance schools and professional ballet companies go out of their way to recruit, train and retain male dancers.
And hiking? I associate that with Girl Guides, an organization that has been subversively feminist since its inception; the place where I and my friends learned the value of cooperation and supporting other women and girls (and also lots of useful skills). To learn more, I recommend this book:
Book cover for How the Girl Guides Won the War, showing guides in blue uniforms playing a game of blanket toss.
There have also been allegations that since January 2025, the Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education has lost half its employees and regional offices, and failed to enter into any agreements addressing sexual assault or harassment in schools. Many of these cases involved girls in sport being harassed or assaulted by boy and men (but, notably, not trans women).
Through all of this, sports media has been obsessing about trans women in professional sport, “even though there are currently no trans women athletes in any major women’s professional league or on track to enter the leagues any time soon….[and] there is no trans woman dominating at professional—or any level, for that matter—women’s sports (source: Xtra Magazine).
It’s a pity, because professional women’s sport is booming. We have the WNBA, a new baseball league, four team expansion in the PWHL, and the Northern Super League in soccer. My PWHL team, the Ottawa Charge, is moving to the venue used by the Ottawa Senators this year because their old arena is just too small.
Xtra also reports that “In Washington state, spurred by this endless discourse cycle, a new policy is going to public vote that will subject children to invasive genital examinations if they want to play sports. Voters will head to the ballot box to weigh in on the policy this fall, and if it passes, kids from kindergarten to high school will be subjected to genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test or an examination of their reproductive anatomy at their yearly sports physical.”
We need gender inclusive sport that is safe for all women and girls, and we need the media to pay attention to the real issues that are making sports unsafe for them.
I’m riding 200 km to fight kids’ cancer and save little lives. Please sponsor me to support my challenge!
The matching donation day for the annual Great Cycle Challenge Canada (the major cycling fundraiser to fight childhood cancer) is Kick Cancer’s Butt Day, taking place on August 12. On this day, online donations made to riders are matched dollar-for-dollar by supporting organizations and sponsors to double the impact.
