
Decoding Partnership in Midlife with Dr. Richard Shapiro
We’ve talked a lot on this show about health issues midlife women face. But what about the other people who often have a front-row seat to these changes, and can play a key supporting role? This week, a conversation about supporting a partner who’s going through menopause—with none other than Elizabeth’s own partner: Dr. Richard Shapiro (who also happens to be a pioneering breast cancer and melanoma researcher and surgeon). They talk about the ways they’ve navigated midlife changes in their relationship, common misconceptions about taking hormones, and impacts menopause can have on relationships, as well as give advice for how both partners and clinicians can better support women experiencing menopause.
Links to resources mentioned in this episode:
(00:01:38) Dr. Elizabeth Poynor on Rich Roll’s podcast
8 facts about divorce in the United States
Note: In this show, we use “women” as shorthand for people with XX chromosomes. We understand sex and gender are more complex, and acknowledge the experiences we describe reach beyond that word.
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Meet the Host

Dr. Elizabeth Poynor
Chair of Women’s Health & Gynecology at the Atria Health and Research Institute.
Dr. Elizabeth Poynor, host of Decoding Women’s Health, is a gynecologic oncologist, an advanced pelvic surgeon, and an expert in midlife women’s health. To investigate all manner of women’s health issues, she blends her background in complex surgical and medical issues with a holistic approach that incorporates leading-edge science and integrative medicine.