Since I was about 8 years old I knew I wanted to be a doctor.  I have always loved science and loved people – there was no better way for me to put the two together in my mind.  All the way through the second year of medical school, I envisioned myself as a cardiothoracic surgeon, or perhaps a trauma specialist.  But these plans faded after I did my gynecology rotation in my third year.  

    I fell in love with gynecologic oncology.  The cancer patients really needed their doctors.  I could see myself helping women and their families through difficult treatments and emotionally trying times.  It felt so rewarding to be a part of the team that was helping to fight cancer.

    As a matter of fact, that is exactly how I started my residency: with a plan to go on to do an oncology fellowship.  But careers, just like life, make their own plans.

    Several new birth control products have hit the market that prevent monthly menstruation in addition to preventing pregnancy.  The latest, Lybrel ® (Wyeth), does this for an entire year.  You have all read the pros and cons of this: some advocacy groups  believe that the medical establishment is robbing women of their right to be a full, natural woman.  While drug companies and doctors are talking about treating women with horrendous, debilitating monthly periods and giving those with a busy schedule the freedom from monthly inconvenience from bleeding.  Today, I am going to take a slightly different approach to this debate.
    Throughout the years, no single sub-group of patients has been taken advantage of like women with ‘feminine problems’.  Whether we are talking about heavy periods, urinary incontinence or osteoporosis, the medical establishment has had a field day with them.  The party line is that it’s all in the name of science and women’s health.  The truth: it’s all in the name of market share and profit.