In this episode of her epithelial ovarian cancer series, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor tackles one of the most familiar—and most powerful—risk categories: your lifestyle.

From what you eat to how active you are, she explains how everyday habits like diet, alcohol, smoking, inactivity, and weight can quietly increase your risk—not just for ovarian cancer, but for breast cancer too. You’ll discover why saturated animal fat, alcohol, and smoking act as “cancer enhancers,” and how even a sedentary lifestyle or higher BMI can raise your risk.

With her signature humor, Dr. Taylor shows that whether you’re a “party animal” or a “couch potato,” both extremes can lead to the same outcome.

By the end, you’ll see how your daily choices add up—and how shifting your lifestyle may be one of the most powerful ways to lower your risk.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.

In this episode of her epithelial ovarian cancer series, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor explores how your reproductive history can shape your risk.

Dr. Taylor explains why the number of menstrual cycles you have in your lifetime may be one of the most important factors. The more cycles your ovaries go through, the higher your risk tends to be. Dr. Taylor also unpacks the surprising protective role of hormonal birth control, which can reduce ovarian cancer risk by about 20% for every five years of use.

Along the way, she tackles confusing questions about infertility, menstrual timing, and the controversial debate around HRT.

By the end of the episode, you’ll see how the story of your own reproductive life—from your first period to menopause—can help explain your personal risk for epithelial ovarian cancer.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.

In this episode of the epithelial ovarian cancer series, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor explores how your personal profile can influence your risk—focusing on characteristics you simply can’t change.

She breaks down four key factors: age, race, ethnicity, and height. You’ll learn which race is most susceptible, and why women of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry face a significantly higher risk. Dr. Taylor also explains a surprising finding: taller women have a slightly higher risk, with studies showing about a 7% increase for every two inches of height.

With epithelial ovarian cancer being primarily a disease of postmenopausal women, this episode can help you better understand your individual risk.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.

In this episode of her in-depth epithelial ovarian cancer series, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor tackles a question many women get wrong: Which family members actually affect your risk?

She breaks down the crucial difference between family history and hereditary genetic mutations—and explains why they are not the same thing. You’ll learn which relatives truly matter (hint: it’s both maternal and paternal sides), why first-degree relatives carry the greatest weight, and how even one close family member with ovarian cancer raises your risk by about 5% above the already low average risk of 1.4%.

Dr. Taylor cuts through the confusion, clarifies common mix-ups with breast cancer risk, and shows you why the details—yes, even the nitty gritty—matter when assessing your personal risk.

If you’ve ever wondered how your family tree shapes your health future, this episode connects the dots with precision and clarity.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.

In this episode, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor continues her in-depth series on epithelial ovarian cancer by focusing on one powerful risk factor: your personal medical history.

She explains why a prior diagnosis of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, or even endometriosis can increase your future risk, and how shared genetic mutations like BRCA1 and BRCA2 connect breast and ovarian cancers. Dr. Taylor also touches on the concept that “once a cancer patient, always a cancer patient,” highlighting how a history of cancer can signal an ongoing vulnerability.

This episode helps you understand how your past medical story shapes your future risk—and why knowing your history is one of the most empowering steps you can take.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.

Genetic Mutations for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer — Beyond BRCA

In the ovarian cancer series, we’ve just separated hereditary from non-hereditary cancers. Now we dive into the specific genetic mutations that drive hereditary epithelial ovarian cancer.

Most women only know about BRCA—but that’s just part of the story. In this episode, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor organizes hereditary epithelial ovarian cancers into three site-specific syndromes: ovaries and breasts (HBOC), ovaries only (HSSOC), and ovaries with colon (Lynch Syndrome). You’ll learn that BRCA mutations account for 65–85% of hereditary epithelial ovarian cancers, that hereditary cancers often strike before age 50, and that while hereditary cancers make up only 5–10% of all ovarian cancers, their risks can be dramatically higher—up to 40–66% for breast cancer and 11–54% for ovarian cancer in BRCA carriers.

Clear, structured, and eye-opening, this episode reveals why knowing your specific mutation matters—and why comparing one woman’s cancer to another’s is a mistake.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.

In the ovarian cancer series, we’ve covered anatomy, cell types, and an overview of risk factors—now it’s time to tackle one of the biggest myths of all.

Most women assume ovarian cancer is inherited. The truth? 90–95% of ovarian cancers are not hereditary. In this episode, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor breaks down the critical differences between hereditary and non-hereditary ovarian cancers—when they start, how they develop, who’s at risk, and why prevention and screening look completely different for each. From genetics and age of onset to testing, inheritance, and prevention strategies, this episode reshapes how you think about risk.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.

Ovarian Cancer Risk Factors

Think ovarian cancer risk is all about your genes or family history? Think again. In this overview, Dr. Barbara 'Menopause' Taylor introduces the various categories of risk factors and the limitations on the research from which they are drawn. From genetics and personal history to hormones, lifestyle, inflammation, and even stress, this episode lays out the full landscape so you can see the big picture. It’s the roadmap that sets up everything that follows—so you can understand where the risks lie and where you can take action to reduce them.

Visual learner? Find the corresponding Menopause Taylor YouTube video here.

Click here for more about one-on-one consultations and Dr. Taylor's menopause resources.

Looking for a roadmap to successful menopause management? Dr. Taylor's new ebook, How to Win at Menopause: A Guide to Raising - and Winning- Your Game Your Way, will bring confidence and clarity to your menopause journey. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to navigate a healthcare system that focuses more on disease than prevention, where many professionals lack the relevant education and/or the motivation to help you.