Men are encroaching on our territory. (Remember last year when the "man" had a baby?) Today, the NYT had a little segment by Dana Jennings who received hormone therapy as treatment for Prostrate Cancer. As a result, he "got" to experience all of the "pleasures" of menopause, right along side his wife and wrote about his experiences with humor, wit, and more than a little empathy.
The first changes he noticed were the legendary "hot flashes", which would hit him in the middle of night. He was so disconcerted by this that he asked for a special magazine solely dedicated to "hot flashes" and suggests "Hot Flash Monthly" as a rather glamorous title. After the onslaught of "hot flashes" came the food cravings, which were uncontrollable and rampant and as a result, Dana gained 30 pounds and started to cry more often. He wrote, "Not only was I temporarily rhenopausal, but it appeared that I was also turning into a teenage girl from the early 1970's." I think the breaking point for Dana was when his son asked him if he was "turning into a chick." after he started drinking Diet Coke.
While his short article is written in a humorous style, he definitely shows a lot of empathy for the women who are slave to their hormones either during Menopause, their periods, and pregnancy and suggests that their partners, "believe her when she blames it on her hormones."
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