Recommended reading
Management of the Menopause
Authors
Margaret Rees, John Stevenson, Sally Hope, Serge Rozenberg and Santiago Palacios
Publishers
Royal Society of Medicine Press Ltd and British Menopause Society Publications Ltd
Details
£19.95, 187pp, Paperback, May 2009
More information on the Royal Society of Medicine Press website >
Review
Rewiewer: Patrick Shervington, Chief executive, Women’s Health Concern (October 2009)
This is the 5th edition of an exceptionally helpful handbook, extensively revised and expanded since the 4th edition was published in 2006. All five authors are internationally renowned both for their knowledge of the complex subject matter and also for their presentational skills in explaining the issues in clear, unambiguous terms. Doctors at whatever stage of their career paths should snap up any opportunity to attend lectures given by these luminaries. So too should nurses and other health professionals including health and lifestyle editors from the general as well as specialist media.
Why the subject is so important is succinctly described: Women's health is increasingly recognised (although not necessarily resourced) as a global health priority. With the expanding elderly female population, the long-term complications of ageing and oestrogen deficiency present an enormous problem in terms of morbidity, mortality and economic burden.
There are four sections: The Menopause and Postmenopausal Health; Assessment and Investigations; Management Strategies; Women with Special Needs. All are digestible and conform to the essential principles of a sound textbook – interesting, relevant, readable and current. There is a comprehensive index and outstanding, easy to find lists for further reading. Osteoporosis, sexual health and incontinence are among the key topics addressed.
The British Menopause Society must be highly commended for providing this practical, unbiased and non-promotional guide for all health professionals dealing with chronic and other conditions affecting menopausal and post-menopausal women. The median age at which the menopause occurs is 52 years. Thus most women can expect more than 30 years of post-menopausal life. This simple fact is the clue why the subject is central to healthcare.
As Sara Moger, the chief executive of the British Menopause Society puts it: "Women in their fifties, sixties and beyond want to feel healthy and fit, to embrace the next stage of their lives. There are so many fabulous role models – confident in themselves, assertive, bright, successful, positive, sexually active and fulfilled". But she recognises that through ignorance and even fear there are women who suffer in silence, principally because the menopause is still the subject of so much misinformation and taboo. She says, "It never ceases to amaze and disappoint me that many intelligent, otherwise sensible women feel incapable of addressing these issues with their friends – let alone a doctor – and if they do, they are often met with complete disinterest because despite the many excellent GPs and specialist nurses out there, there are still significant numbers who are uninformed and unresponsive. Our aim at the BMS is to encourage the doctor or nurse to raise the topic with the patient in a matter-of-fact way, with no embarrassment – and offer solutions, not stoicism".
This is an invaluable guide, to be kept close at hand in the consulting room.
For information on membership of the British Menopause Society: www.thebms.org.uk
