'Dr. Rako discusses a growing body of information that deflates the notion that menstrual suppression is a viable option for women." -The New York Times Encouraging healthy menstruating women and even teenage girls to do away with their normal menstrual cycles by dosing themselves more or less nonstop with hormones (a multi-billion-dollar-per-year industry) is, in a word, reckless. What every woman and her doctor MUST know about the actual benefits of the normal menstrual cycle-naturally lowered blood pressure, reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes, healthy bones, rhythmic stimulation of sexual desire and creativity-and about the potential hazards of menstrual suppression (heart attacks, strokes, cervical cancer, osteoporosis, depressed libido) deserves a voice. I am determined that it will have one. -Susan Rako, M.D.