Esther McCarthy: What I learned at a midlife breakfast

The event is called The Midlife Breakfast, organised by The Pink Ladies, to support breast cancer services at CUH so she’s preaching to the choir

There was talk about the changes that take place with our bones and muscle mass, one woman was refused HRT

“Looking after your vagina is a full-time job.” There’s a pause in the room, and then a ripple of agreement, recognition, and applause.

Dr Sinead Hurley, from Menopause Care Ireland, who has just said those words, looks startled at the response and has to wait a moment before she continues her talk. Everyone is turning to each other, with little light bulbs over our heads. It’s so much WORK. Another time-consuming, costly job to add to the list. And our list is already the length of a stretched bra, defying molecular physics, gravity, and sense.