Why Menopause Care Needs More Clarity and Compassion – Exclusive Interview with Suzi Rose

Suzi Rose is a specialist oncology pharmacist and menopause coach who founded The MenoPharm to bring credible, compassionate, evidence-based support to women navigating midlife hormonal change. With over two decades of clinical experience, she has supported thousands of women through breast cancer treatments, giving her a unique understanding of treatment-induced menopause and the emotional impact of hormonal change.

In this interview, she shares clinical insights, practical guidance, and lived experience to help women feel informed, confident, and in control of their health. The conversation explores early symptoms, hormone therapy, workplace challenges, and the role of pharmacist-led coaching in transforming menopause care.

What inspired you to create The MenoPharm after years as a specialist oncology pharmacist?

Working in oncology, I spent years supporting women through breast-cancer treatment, guiding them through complex medication regimens and managing side effects with supportive care medication. What struck me most recently was how often menopause was treated as an afterthought. Many of my patients experienced sudden, intense hormonal changes triggered by cancer therapies, yet the emotional and physical impact of those changes was rarely addressed with the same care as their cancer itself.

That gap stayed with me. As I reached the perimenopausal stage myself, I realised that women everywhere, not just those in oncology, were navigating menopause with limited, fragmented support. They were being told to “just get on with it,” when what they needed was clarity, compassion, and credible guidance grounded in science.

The MenoPharm grew from that realisation. It’s my way of bridging the clinical and the personal, combining pharmacy expertise with coaching to help women understand their options, whether hormonal, non-hormonal, or lifestyle-based. My goal is to make menopause care feel informed, empowering, and deeply human.

What does a pharmacist bring to menopause coaching that women may not find elsewhere?

The menopause space is crowded with conflicting information, rushed GP appointments, if you can get one, and a sense that women are left to “figure it out” alone. A pharmacist changes that dynamic completely. We’re trained to understand how the body responds to medicines, hormones, supplements, and lifestyle factors, and that depth of knowledge becomes incredibly powerful during menopause.

Women often come to me confused about peri/menopausal symptoms, unsure about HRT risks, or overwhelmed by the sheer number of non-hormonal options. As a pharmacist, I can translate complex science into personalised, practical guidance, explaining how treatments work, how they interact, and what women can realistically expect. That level of clarity is rarely available in a standard 10-minute appointment.

But it’s more than medication expertise. Pharmacists spend their careers listening, really listening, to people’s concerns and lived experiences. We’re accessible, unhurried, and comfortable supporting sensitive conversations. In menopause coaching, that means women finally get a space where their symptoms aren’t dismissed, their lifestyle and values are considered, their questions aren’t rushed, and their choices are genuinely respected.

Why do so many women still struggle to get clear, evidence-based menopause advice?

It’s brilliant that menopause is finally being talked about. For too long, it was hidden behind stigma, and the rise in conversation, especially online, has helped women feel seen. But with that visibility comes a new challenge, not all the “talk” is trustworthy.

Social media is full of confident voices sharing tips, hacks, and hormone theories that sound persuasive but aren’t grounded in science. Women scrolling late at night are left trying to sift through opinion, marketing, and misinformation to find what’s actually evidence-based.

Another issue is that menopause support isn’t regulated. Almost anyone can call themselves a menopause coach or hormone expert, even without medical training.

Many don’t understand how hormones interact with medications, chronic conditions, or cancer treatments, yet their advice is presented as fact.

Add to that short healthcare appointments, lingering myths about HRT, and outdated guidance, and it’s no surprise women feel confused.

Pharmacist-led menopause coaching cuts through the noise. It brings clinical training, medication expertise, and evidence-based clarity into a space crowded with mixed messages, giving women answers they can trust.

What changes would make the biggest difference to menopause support in healthcare and the workplace?

The biggest shift we need is credible, consistent menopause support across healthcare and workplaces. In healthcare, women deserve longer appointments, better-trained clinicians, and clear pathways so they aren’t left navigating symptoms alone or relying on social-media “experts” for answers.

In the workplace, the stakes are high. One in ten women leave their jobs because of menopause symptoms, often due to loss of confidence, anxiety, hot flushes, sleep disturbance, and urinary symptoms. These are experienced, competent women at the peak of their careers, yet they’re being lost because support is inconsistent.

By 2027, all large employers must have a published ‘menopause action plan’, but many risk treating it as a tick-box exercise. Real change comes from embedding personalised, credible support, not just policies on paper.

Having pharmacist-led menopause coaches within workplaces would make the biggest difference. They can advise managers and HR, deliver evidence-based education, and provide individual coaching that helps women stay well, confident, and supported. This is how culture shifts, and how organisations retain the talented women they cannot afford to lose.

When someone feels overwhelmed by conflicting advice about hormone therapy, where should they start?

When hormone therapy advice feels confusing or contradictory, the best place to begin is by returning to credible, evidence-based sources. There’s a huge amount of information online, some excellent, some misleading, and it’s easy to feel lost. Starting with trusted medical organisations, such as the British Menopause Society or NICE guidance, helps women anchor themselves in balanced, science-based facts about benefits, risks, and suitability.

It’s also important for women to understand the wider health benefits of HRT. Beyond symptom relief, hormone therapy can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and future fractures, and for many women who start it under 60, it can also lower cardiovascular risk. These long-term benefits are often overlooked in online debates.

From there, the most valuable step is speaking with a qualified healthcare professional, a women’s-health-trained GP, menopause-trained pharmacist, or specialist clinician, who can interpret evidence in the context of your own health history.

It also helps to step back from social-media “hot takes”, where personal experience and commercial interests often blur facts. A pharmacist-led menopause coach can help you sift through the noise and prepare for a productive clinical conversation. The clearest starting point is trusted evidence and a qualified clinician, and building clarity from there.

What are some everyday signs that women often dismiss but deserve a conversation about menopause?

Many women experience early menopause symptoms long before they connect them to hormonal change. Everyday signs are often brushed off as stress, ageing, or “just life,” yet they deserve a proper conversation.

Common early symptoms include sleep disturbances, especially waking at 3 to 4 am and struggling to fall back asleep. Anxiety, loss of confidence, and feeling suddenly overwhelmed are also very typical, and often misunderstood as personality changes rather than hormone shifts. Women may notice brain fog, forgetfulness, or difficulty concentrating, which can feel unsettling but are extremely common in perimenopause.

Physical signs are just as important, hot flushes, night sweats, new urinary symptoms, such as urgency, frequency, or recurrent UTIs, and joint aches that seem to appear out of nowhere. Changes in skin, hair, or weight, or feeling unusually sensitive to temperature, can also be early clues.

Because these symptoms appear gradually, many women dismiss them or try to “push through.” But they’re meaningful. They deserve a conversation, ideally with a clinician or menopause-trained pharmacist who can help women understand what’s happening and explore evidence-based options. Recognising these everyday signs early gives women back clarity, confidence, and control.

How has being both a healthcare professional and a mother of three shaped the way you support women?

Being a healthcare professional gives me the clinical grounding to explain menopause clearly and confidently, but being a mother of three daughters adds a completely different dimension to how I support women. I’m used to hormonal changes at every end of the spectrum, from teenage surges to midlife shifts, and that lived experience helps me understand how deeply hormones influence mood, confidence, sleep, and identity.

In my clinical work, I’ve supported women through cancer treatment, complex medication decisions, and the uncertainty of perimenopause. At home, I’ve learned the importance of listening, noticing subtle changes, and understanding how overwhelming life can feel when you’re trying to hold everything together. That combination shapes my coaching style, scientifically precise, but relatable.

Women don’t just need information, they need someone who understands the emotional load of work, family, ageing parents, and children, all while navigating their own hormonal transition. Being both a clinician and a mother allows me to support women with clarity, empathy, and genuine partnership, meeting them exactly where they are.

If every woman approaching menopause could understand one thing before symptoms begin, what would you want it to be?

I’d want every woman to know that menopause will happen to all of us, and the transition often begins far earlier than people expect. Perimenopause symptoms can start 7 to 10 years before menopause itself, which means many women in their early 40s dismiss changes in sleep, mood, confidence, or energy because they think they’re “too young.” In reality, 42 might be the very beginning.

Understanding this early gives women huge power. Menopause affects every cell in the body, which is why symptoms can feel so varied, night-time waking, anxiety, brain fog, urinary changes, joint aches, hot flushes, or a sudden dip in confidence. These aren’t signs of ageing, they’re hormonal shifts, and they’re common, predictable, and treatable.

If women knew this ahead of time, they’d approach midlife with far more clarity and far less fear. Evidence-based options exist, hormonal, non-hormonal, and lifestyle-based, and learning about them early helps women stay one step ahead.

Most importantly, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Speaking with a clinician or menopause-trained pharmacist early on can help you recognise symptoms sooner and make informed choices that support long-term wellbeing.

If every man could understand one thing about the menopause, what would you want them to know?

I’d want every man to understand that menopause is a hormonal transition that can affect every part of a woman’s life, her mood, sleep, confidence, libido, and ability to cope, and none of it is personal. Symptoms like reduced libido, increased anxiety, irritability, or emotional withdrawal are physiological, not a reflection of how she feels about him. When men recognise this, they stop interpreting symptoms as rejection and start responding with empathy rather than frustration.

Menopause can bring brain fog, night sweats, low mood, and a dip in self-esteem, and partners, colleagues, and friends who understand these signs can offer support that feels steady rather than dismissive. Listening, validating, and avoiding belittling or minimising her experience makes a profound difference.

This is exactly why The MenoPharm also offers coaching for men. Men often need their own space to understand what’s happening, learn what to say, how to support without over-fixing, and how to protect their relationship by not taking symptoms personally. Coaching helps men feel informed, confident, and emotionally equipped, strengthening connection at home, at work, and within families.

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Read more from Suzi Rose