Hello! I’m Jill Angelo, CEO of Gennev. When I started this company in 2016, my number one goal was to solve women’s health pains in menopause. Sleep, weight, hot flashes, sex, depression, fatigue, brain fog - the list of health pains is long and it’s robbing women of their quality of life and productivity at work. If you’re reading this, you likely identify with that.
As the CEO of Gennev, I love knowing that 89% of our patients feel relief from their menopause symptoms. But the more important issue weighing on my mind, is that there are so many more women not seeking care. In November 2021, we surveyed Gennev patients and learned that 85% of them regretted not seeking menopause care sooner.
Considering there are 50 million women in the U.S. alone in menopause, and less than 7% seek care, that leaves 47 million women not seeking the care they need. Are you one of them?
It’s Time for Your Menopause Check-up
What concerns me is that the solution is so simple: get a menopause check-up. It’s as easy as taking the free assessment (2 minutes), and then speaking with a doctor from the comfort of your own home (30 minutes). Internally, we affectionately call this the “M-check”.
In the past 12 months, over 4K women have had the full M-check (assessment + doctor). And over 200,000 women have taken the assessment.
If you’ve taken the assessment, you’re 50% of the way there. You’re informed about where you’re at in the menopause journey and have access to some great education. The remaining 50% of the effort results in relief from sleepless nights, answers to mysterious weight gain, remedies for brain fog, uncomfortable sex, and unexplainable fatigue. Who doesn’t want to feel better from all of that?
Changing the Standard of Care for Women in Menopause
As a leader in women's health, I feel the responsibility to get the 47M women not seeking care, the care they need.
Starting at the age of 45, women need to get their menopause check-up. Just like a mammogram, pap exam, or colonoscopy leads to awareness and treatment, the M-check answers the health pains of menopause and assesses a woman’s risks for rising cholesterol, depression, and self-doubt when it comes to sexual satisfaction. And, with 75% of women in menopause struggling with hypertension, 30% with osteoporosis, and 10% with depression, the menopause check-up addresses that too.
This menopause check-up does not exist in health literature or research. While I appreciate research and guidance for Well-Women visits, perimenopause and post-menopause are afterthoughts in the final paragraph with no explanation for what to check in the patient. Women’s post-reproductive health has been largely underserved for decades, but the longer I’m in this business, I’ve come to learn that the status quo is not working. Results from over 200,000 completed assessments remind me of this daily.
What I hope you take away from this article is that women need to start assessing where they are with menopause at age 45. Just like getting a mammogram at the age of 40, and a colonoscopy at 45. It’s that simple.
If you haven’t had your M-check, start by taking the assessment. Then, speak with a doctor and feel better starting now.
If you’re hesitant, I’d love to better understand your concerns. Please take this 2-minute anonymous survey. Hearing from you is the only way we can make a massive change to how women’s health is treated in this country, not to mention the workplace and by insurance providers.
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