Wired examines the surge in demand for perimenopause and menopause hormone therapy in the US, following years in which the treatment was under-prescribed due to overstated cancer fears. The piece opens with the story of Schrenk, a federal IT specialist whose treatment-resistant depression and suicidal thoughts in her early forties were repeatedly dismissed by doctors, until she discovered that hormone therapy—rather than her existing contraceptive pill—resolved her symptoms after finding a telehealth provider willing to prescribe it.

The article traces how hormone therapy fell out of favour after a 2002 study exaggerated cancer risks, leading doctors to prescribe it far less often for decades. It notes a recent shift in consensus, with the FDA removing "black box" warnings on hormone therapy last autumn, backed by support from medical professionals, feminists and the Make America Healthy Again movement alike, amid growing recognition that many menopausal people were needlessly enduring mood swings, hot flashes and night sweats.