The Rising Cancer Risk All Women Need to Know About

Happy Wednesday!

Sometimes, the most important health information is the kind that makes you pause and rethink what you believed you understood. This week, we're focusing on colorectal cancer—a disease many women still believe only affects men or occurs later in life. However, the data is changing, and increasingly, younger women are being diagnosed, often because early symptoms are dismissed as stress, hormones, or "just IBS."

We're also looking at the surprising air quality cost of cozy winter fires, why your GLP-1 weight loss may have plateaued (and why that's actually normal), and an energy hack that doesn't require more sleep. Plus, what menopause might be doing to the brain that looks a lot like early Alzheimer's patterns.

As always, we share women’s health and wellness news that’s evidence-based and thoughtfully explained.

Wishing you good health and happiness!
Nicolle
Editor

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For years, colorectal cancer was considered something that happened later in life, mostly to men, mostly to “other people.” But that story is changing, and women are increasingly part of it.

New data from the American Cancer Society shows that colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related death in people under 50, even as death rates from most other cancers continue to fall. Among younger women, cases are rising steadily, and many are diagnosed at advanced stages — not because the signs weren’t there, but because they were easy to explain away.

Digestive issues like bloating, fatigue, anemia, constipation, or intermittent bleeding are often dismissed as stress, hormones, postpartum changes, perimenopause, or “just IBS.” Many women are accustomed to downplaying discomfort or toughing out symptoms, and doctors might not think to screen someone who appears healthy and is under 45.

Researchers are examining factors including diet, gut inflammation, alcohol consumption, and environmental exposures. One recent study found that long-term heavy alcohol use significantly increases colorectal cancer risk, while quitting can help reduce it.

The most important takeaway is awareness. Listening to your body, trusting persistent symptoms, and asking about screening earlier than you think you need could make a life-saving difference.

Throwing another log into the fireplace on a cold winter night feels comforting — almost nostalgic. Before we moved into our new home, I loved evenings spent knitting by our wood-burning stove; I loved the sound of the wood crackling, and I even loved the smell of it. But new research suggests that this familiar ritual may come with an unexpected cost.

Scientists at Northwestern University have found that residential wood burning is one of the largest contributors to winter air pollution in the U.S., despite the fact that only about 2% of American homes use wood as their primary heat source. According to the study, wood burning accounts for more than 20% of Americans’ wintertime exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — tiny particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to heart disease, lung disease, and premature death, and the researchers estimate that pollution from residential wood burning is associated with approximately 8,600 premature deaths each year.

What’s most surprising: the health burden is felt most strongly in urban and suburban areas, not rural ones. Smoke from fireplaces and wood stoves often drifts into densely populated cities, exposing people who may not burn wood themselves. The study also found that communities of color experience higher exposure and greater health harms, despite lower rates of wood burning — a disparity tied to long-standing environmental inequities.

Your fireplace doesn’t have to disappear overnight, but researchers say that transitioning to cleaner heating options, especially during winter months, could lead to outsized improvements in air quality and save thousands of lives.

If you’ve been on a GLP-1 medication for a while and notice that the scale has slowed down or stalled, it doesn’t mean the medication has stopped working.

As GLP-1 drugs move from early weight loss into long-term use, doctors are increasingly pushing back on the idea of tolerance. What most people experience instead is a natural plateau: the body adapting to a lower weight, much like it does after any major metabolic change. Rapid early loss is often followed by a steadier phase, a pattern seen not only with GLP-1s but with bariatric surgery and other obesity treatments.

Doctors say the first step isn’t changing the drug, it’s checking the basics. Has dosing stayed consistent? Have eating, movement, sleep, stress, or hormones shifted? Seasonal changes, thyroid issues, menopause, and even subtle habit drift can all affect progress.

Importantly, real-world data show that when people stop GLP-1s, weight often comes back—strong evidence that the medication remains biologically active. The greater risk, experts warn, might be cycling on and off treatment, which can lead to fat regain rather than muscle gain.

The takeaway is reassuring. Plateaus are part of physiology. Long-term success looks less like constant weight loss and more like recalibration that evolves with your body.

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