Education of community and health-care providers

I submit that education about menopause should rest on three basic assumptions: (1) that menopause requires us to confront the stigma of aging; (2) that menopause is not a disease, but a challenge; and (3) that optimal treatment of the menopausal women needs the informed and educated participation of the patient. If we can agree on this, whether as medical consumers or health-care providers, I think that we can do much to alleviate the present state of confusion.