The Truth About Estrogen: What the Women's Health Initiative Got Wrong

Dr. Mary Claire Haver, MD October 21, 2025
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Dr. Mary Claire Haver, MD

@drmaryclaire

About

Dr. Mary Claire Haver, MD, FACOG, MSCP, is a board-certified OB-GYN and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The New Menopause, a book written to empower women with evidence-based menopause care. She earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University Medical Center and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), where she is now an Adjunct Associate Professor. Through her writing, clinical practice, podcast, and digital presence, Dr. Mary Claire Haver has become the trusted voice in menopause care, empowering women worldwide to embrace this life stage with confidence and vitality. Her next book, The New Perimenopause, is available for preorder: https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book Connect: FB - facebook.com/drmaryclaire IG - instagram.com/drmaryclaire TT - @drmaryclaire https://thepauselife.com https://maryclairewellness.com

Video Description

What if the biggest health study in history got it wrong and millions of women paid the price? In this premiere episode of “unPAUSED," Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Avrum Bluming, medical oncologist and former senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, and Dr. Carol Tavris, social psychologist and co-authors of the life-changing book: Estrogen Matters. In this conversation, they dismantle the 2002 Women's Health Initiative study that terrified an entire generation of women away from hormone therapy and reveal why the fear was based on misinterpreted data, flawed conclusions, and a refusal to correct the record. You'll learn why estrogen actually decreases breast cancer risk, how heart disease kills seven times more women than breast cancer, and why the "lowest dose of estrogen for the shortest time" advice has no scientific backing. This conversation will inform you and empower you to demand better from your own healthcare provider. If you've ever been told hormone therapy is too dangerous, that your symptoms are "just aging," or that you need to accept suffering in silence, this episode of “unPAUSED” is for you. Dr. Haver, Dr. Bluming, and Dr. Tavris give you the science, the tools, and the truth you need to hear including a free informed consent form and quality of life questionnaire you can bring to your doctor's office today. Guest links: * Estrogen Matters https://estrogenmatters.com/ * Estrogen Matters (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/estrogen_matters/ For full show notes, please visit: https://bit.ly/unPAUSEDBlumingTavris About Dr. Avrum Bluming & Dr. Carol Tavris Dr. Bluming, a Board Certified medical oncologist, coauthor with Dr. Carol Tavris of Estrogen Matters, is one of the best-known voices in the field of the benefits and safety of estrogen therapy. He is a former Senior Investigator of the National Cancer Institute, a Master of the American College of Physicians, and Emeritus Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He organized the first study of lumpectomy for the treatment of breast cancer in Southern California in 1978; and, for the past 3 decades, has been studying and publishing the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy administered to women both with and without a previous history of treated breast cancer. Carol Tavris, Ph.D., is a social psychologist, writer, and lecturer. She is coauthor, with Dr. Avrum Bluming, of Estrogen Matters, a groundbreaking expose of the flawed study that scared millions of women off the hormones that protect their health, sexuality, and wellbeing and prolong their lives. She is also coauthor, with Elliot Aronson, of the best-selling Mistakes Were Made (but not by me), about the psychology of self-justification. Carol has written hundreds of articles, op-eds, and book reviews on topics of psychological science and given distinguished lectureships, workshops, and keynote addresses to students, clinicians, psychologists, lawyers, physicians, and general audiences around the world. A Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, she has received numerous awards for her efforts to promote science and gender equity. Never miss an episode—sign up for The ’Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ’Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.

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