A UK-based entrepreneur, bestselling author and Menopause Mentor from Market Harborough is expressing delight after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will be removing black box safety warnings across all hormone therapies prescribed for menopause and perimenopause.
Jane Pangbourne, 58, frequently endures abusive messages and online trolling for her continued advocacy that HRT is safe and that women have been fed misleading information for decades. The FDA’s update indicates that the American medical establishment now accepts that previous warnings on HRT drugs were not supported by the latest evidence.
“Last week I warned hundreds of people from the big stage about Menopause misinformation, and this week my voice has finally been echoed by drug companies,” said Jane, who has been working hard to educate women around all the misinformation surrounding taking HRT in perimenopause and menopause.
“I’ve been online trolled for years and had so much hate, purely for trying to challenge the misinformation being provided to women about so-called risks of HRT. I’ve helped improve the quality of life for thousands of people by helping them understand their hormones and what their body needs, yet I am constantly in fight mode because even the HRT literature being provided to women was inaccurate so people just don’t know what to believe.
“Now my message is finally being supported in the US as the FDA has announced it will remove the long-standing caution label from more than 20 hormone therapy products citing potential risks of heart attack, stroke, and dementia – based on inaccurate information from 20 years ago. I am thankful that slowly the medical profession is making this information clear but the UK needs to now catch up!
“I am delighted that the FDA has made this move and encourage others to follow suit. I am calling for everyone to now take a breath and look at the evidence and facts so as not to undo all the hard work I and so many others have put into reversing the negative narrative around HRT.”
After more than 10 years researching facts and working in this space, No.1 Bestselling author of ‘I Choose Menopause’, Jane, also known as ‘The Disruptive Menopause Mentor’ has been recognised by META for her free support and ongoing work with the online community and badged as one of the UK’s Top 30 menopause influencers 2025 and is determined to use her influence to help as many people as possible. She’s been on the ‘front line’ again this week, as news broke of Davina McCall’s breast cancer diagnosis and the ensuing barrage of HRT haters have been out in full force.
On a Facebook post where Jane damns provocative headlines suggesting a link between HRT and breast cancer Jane has received over 700 comments and nearly 1.5k reactions which have been a mix between an outpouring of support from those grateful to Jane for her work, and aggressive abusive comments by those who see fit to villainise it. Jane has had to remove and block many comments due to their hate and fake facts content.
No stranger to putting her head about the parapet, taking to the stage in front of hundreds of people at the UK’s fastest growing personal and business development event, The Big Festoon, last month, Jane shared her message that we all need to ‘unlearn’ what we think we know about Menopause and played her part in ‘starting conversations that matter – especially around the misinformed beliefs around Menopause and breast cancer risks’. She was approached by many audience members afterwards and gave away nearly 200 copies of her book for free to those who most needed the support.
Jane said: “People came to thank me, and share their stories with me – of being fobbed off by doctors, or misinformed by healthcare professionals, of being overwhelmed by information on the internet and of not knowing where to turn. They seemed to appreciate being able to share their story with me, after I’d shared mine with them of being ignored by the system for many years and finally taking my health into my own hands – but following this event I also had people troll my social media channels accusing me of sprouting rubbish.”
“It is time for me to get louder with my message as still too many people are being fed misinformation and I am seeing first hand how this is leading to huge declines in mental health. We all deserve to live the life we want and not have our fluctuating or lack of hormones dictate our quality of life.”
To further illustrate that breast cancer is not linked to use of regulated body identical HRT, Jane is now calling for breast cancer survivors to share their stories of using HRT to help her further convince people that the two are not connected. She plans to run a social media series to share these stories and help as many people as possible ‘wake up to the truth’.
Jane is also very clear on any actual risk factors that exist including the low increased breast cancer risk when using synthetic progestogens and has on numerous occasions taken on clients who have been misprescribed or given incorrect HRT information. She is also quick to clarify that more women die of heart disease than breast cancer and the low breast cancer risk when using synthetic progestogens is still much lower than drinking alcohol regularly, smoking or not exercising.
Jane is an ex Training Manager turned entrepreneur, after building her business ‘Menopausal Not Mad’ in 2017 on the back of her self education, when the system failed her. Her menopause journey began at just 37 years old when she entered premature perimenopause – medically known as Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI). She struggled for years to access proper help, in which time she suffered several job losses due to lack of support at work, finally only getting the help she needed after doing extensive research herself and being her own fierce advocate.
Since then she has become an active champion for others, and has gathered over 55,000 signatures calling for better advice to be offered to patients via GPs, and winning a community award from META, recognising her for being in the top 2-3% of online global communities.
Recommended by doctors and healthcare professionals Jane is a Level 6 certificated Women’s Health Practitioner, qualified nutritionist, and holds certificates in CBT, training, and assessment. She added: “People come to me when no one else is listening. I’ve been told I am ‘a bubble of hope’ in this confusing arena. That’s all I want to be – hope for people who feel lost.”
She is also on a mission to remove the fear and confusion around menopause for ALL people – including the LGBTQIA+ community. Jane has become an active ally within the LGBTQIA+ community, offering help to anyone experiencing menopause, as she believes information needs to be freely available to all who need it and so often the LGBTQIA+ community don’t feel safe to be a part of such conversations – She is here to change that too.
For more information see www.menopausalnotmad.co.uk
