What's a woman to do?

By Midge Campbell

MILLIONS OF WOMEN , as well as the medical community, were thrown into turmoil recently when the largest study to date on hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) found that such treatment increased health risks for some women. The cover of TIME magazine posed a difficult question for the "40 percent of all women in the US" who turn to HRT in their menopausal years. In bold letters and colors the cover reads: "Hormone-replacement therapy is riskier than advertised. What's a woman to do?"

As a woman, my heart is right next to those struggling with both the symptoms and treatment of menopause. Yet I know that the answer to the question "What's a woman to do?" doesn't have to be a risky one. It can be a spiritual one.

I remember when I faced the difficulties of menopause. When I was in my early 50s, my father, whom I was extremely close to, died, My husband and I were finding that our nest seemed very empty when our youngest child went away to college. My first gray hairs were appearing, along with some physical and emotional discomfort—hot flashes and mood swings. I cried easily and a lot. Suddenly it seemed as if everything around me was changing—my life, my family, my body. I was dealing with what my generation referred to as "the change of life."

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