From debilitating symptoms to leading a menopause movement: Trish’s story

Trish Barbato suffered from debilitating symptoms of menopause for two years before she was referred to Mount Sinai Hospital’s Menopause Clinic.

“I was having night sweats and hot flashes several times every hour — 40, 50, 60 a day, every single day,” describes Trish. “I would sleep on a beach towel, and I would sweat through that, and then I would get another beach towel. I was completely sleep deprived.”

At the Menopause Clinic, which is now a part of Sinai Health’s Centre for Mature Women’s Health, Trish met an obstetrician and gynaecologist named Dr. Lindsay Shirreff. Under Dr. Shirreff’s care, Trish started hormone therapy (HT). The treatment helped, but it was the way she was treated by Dr. Shirreff and the health-care staff that made a real difference.

“I was a difficult case. What was most helpful was that I had a person who had a plan,” recalls Trish. “There’s some relief in knowing, ‘here’s somebody who knows what they’re doing and they’re going to get me on a path toward relief’.”

It also saved her life. Dr. Shirreff caught Trish’s endometrial cancer early and did a complete hysterectomy. Her cancer diagnosis meant Trish’s treatment carried more risk than most standard menopause therapies, so Dr. Shirreff continues to work closely with Trish to ensure her symptoms remain manageable while weighing additional risks.

Trish’s debilitating menopause symptoms motivated her to do something about it, so other women wouldn’t have to go through what she went through.

This brought her to Dr. Wendy Wolfman, a trailblazer in mature women’s health and the Director of the Centre for Mature Women’s Health and Carol “Mitch” Mitchell, a longtime advocate for mature women’s health and the woman behind the Carol Mitchell Chair in Menopause.

Trish credits Dr. Wolfman and Mitch for inspiring her to create the Menopause Foundation of Canada, a non-profit organization. Together with her co-founder, Janet Ko, a medical advisory board and a team of volunteers, the foundation aims to raise awareness of menopause in Canada, improve access to menopause care and treatment and inspire organizations to create menopause inclusive workplaces.

“I just wanted to find somebody who cared enough about this thing. I wanted to help get the word out and start the process of bringing menopause out in the open,” says Trish. “Because of their dedication — toiling without recognition, without resources — toward something that affects every single woman, it was a major inspiration. Wendy, Mitch and Mount Sinai Hospital were the inspiration for Janet and me to start the foundation.”

Menopause in the workplace has been a significant focus for the foundation. A report from the Menopause Foundation of Canada estimates the economic burden at $3.5 billion annually due to unmanaged symptoms of menopause. They also estimate up to one in 10 women will quit or lose their jobs due to these unmanaged symptoms.

“It was my life goal to break the glass ceiling and become the CEO of a publicly traded company. I had that opportunity, but I couldn’t take it. I was just so debilitated by my symptoms,” says Trish. “So, the impact of menopause on women's trajectory in the workforce, their ability to access positions of power during that period, I care a lot about that.”

The Menopause Foundation of Canada is changing how workplaces support women through menopause — creating resources to help women navigate conversations with their supervisors and giving employers practical advice on how to make their space more inclusive. Trish, Janet and others also offer education sessions to help organizations integrate this approach.

Her message today is aimed at organizational leaders, who have the power to make positive changes to support women navigating menopause at work.

“You don’t want to lose these women. You want to retain them,” says Trish. “They are great mentors. They are great coaches. They have lots of wisdom, so being menopause inclusive is just one way to say, ‘I see you. I hear you. I understand that you’re going through this’.”

The best part? These efforts fit beautifully into existing conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Look at your policies — are they inclusive of menopause? Look at your benefit package — what does it include? What does it exclude? Is there anything that should be in there?” says Trish. “The effort is really relatively low for an employer, but we see the benefit as being massive.”

So far, more than 60 employers — from small companies to large corporations — have signed on to the Menopause Foundation of Canada’s Menopause Works Here™ campaign. The initiative encourages employers to demonstrate their support for the wellbeing of employees experiencing menopause.

Trish hopes that through initiatives like this, and Sinai Health Foundation’s Hot and Bothered™ campaign, more women will be inspired to advocate for themselves and more systemic change will be possible — across society, health systems and the workplace. And so far, the response from other women has been more than she ever imagined.

“Two years ago, nobody was talking about menopause,” says Trish. “So, to go from that to this campaign and so many people’s allyship starting to happen, it’s incredible. All over the world, women are saying, ‘Enough is enough. We’re not taking this anymore. I want equity. I want access. It's not a lot to ask for. It’s my human right.’ To me, this is a part of that movement.”

Sinai Health Foundation is grateful to Trish for sharing her journey through menopause and for her ongoing efforts to support menopause education through the Menopause Foundation of Canada. To learn more about Hot and Bothered, the ongoing campaign to support menopause care, research and education click here.