The Pink Ribbon Doesn't Do This
October 13, 2025
Why annual screenings aren't enough
In this blog, you will find:
- Why Linda's "perfect" annual physical missed everything that was making her feel terrible - despite normal mammograms, labs, and screenings
- How disease-focused healthcare ignores quality of life, optimal function, and prevention in favor of annual problem-hunting
- The difference between "normal" lab values and optimal health - and why accepting decline as "normal aging" is medical negligence
- What comprehensive, proactive women's healthcare actually looks like when it focuses on thriving rather than just disease detection
- How Linda transformed from exhausted and declining to energetic and thriving with care that addressed the whole person
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Dr. Georgine Nanos here. October means pink ribbons everywhere telling women to get mammograms.
Yes. Get your mammogram. But I'm sick of pretending that annual disease-hunting constitutes women's healthcare.
Linda came to see me after her "perfect" annual physical. Mammogram normal. Pap smear clear. Cholesterol and blood sugar in acceptable ranges. Her doctor said she was healthy and should come back next year.
Except Linda felt like garbage.
Exhausted every afternoon despite sleeping eight hours. Brain fog so thick she could barely function at work. Gaining weight around her middle no matter what she ate. Skin that looked dull and aged. Hair thinning noticeably.
When she mentioned these concerns, her doctor said they were "normal for her age" and suggested stress management.
Normal for her age. As if feeling terrible is an acceptable part of being a woman over forty.
This is what's wrong with our disease-focused healthcare model. We've turned women's health into annual scavenger hunts for cancer and heart disease while completely ignoring quality of life, optimal function, and prevention.
Linda's labs were "normal" by population standards. But normal doesn't mean optimal. Normal doesn't mean thriving. Normal certainly doesn't mean you should accept feeling exhausted, unfocused, and older than your years.
Real women's healthcare should address the whole person: hormonal optimization, cognitive function, metabolic health, skin vitality, emotional wellbeing. It should be proactive rather than reactive, comprehensive rather than fragmented.
Instead of seeing women once a year to hunt for diseases, we should partner with them continuously to optimize their health and prevent problems before they develop.
Linda's hormone levels were technically "normal" but were declining in ways that explained her crushing fatigue and cognitive symptoms. Her skin concerns weren't cosmetic vanity - they reflected underlying changes in cellular health and collagen production that could be addressed medically.
Her mood changes weren't character flaws - they were neurological responses to hormonal fluctuations that could be treated with targeted interventions like TMS.
Within three months of comprehensive care, Linda transformed. Energy returned. Brain fog cleared. Skin looked vibrant and healthy again. She felt like herself - not the exhausted, confused version she'd been accepting as "normal aging."
None of this would have been addressed in traditional healthcare because she wasn't "sick" by conventional standards. She was just declining, which apparently is acceptable as long as you don't have diagnosable diseases.
This is what real prevention looks like: addressing declining function before it becomes disease, optimizing hormones before they crash completely, supporting brain health before cognitive issues develop, maintaining skin vitality before structural damage becomes irreversible.
True prevention isn't just screening for cancer and heart disease. It's comprehensive care that keeps you functioning optimally so disease is less likely to develop in the first place.
But most women don't even know this level of care exists. They've been conditioned to accept that feeling tired, unfocused, and older than they should is just part of being female after forty.
Your declining energy isn't inevitable. Your brain fog isn't normal aging. Your skin changes aren't just genetics. Your mood fluctuations aren't character flaws.
These are all areas where proactive, comprehensive care can create dramatic improvements in how you feel and function.
October is perfect for expanding what we mean by women's health. Yes, get your mammogram. Keep up with cancer screenings. But also demand healthcare that goes beyond disease detection to include optimization, prevention, and comprehensive wellbeing.
You deserve doctors who care about how you feel, not just whether you have diagnosable diseases. You deserve healthcare that helps you thrive, not just survive long enough to develop diseases they can treat.
Stop accepting healthcare that only looks for problems. Start demanding care that creates optimal health, energy, and vitality.
Because when women get comprehensive care instead of annual disease-hunting, everything changes. Energy returns. Confidence grows. Aging becomes something you do with strength and vitality instead of decline and resignation.
This is what women's health looks like when it focuses on thriving rather than just disease prevention. health, energy, and vitality.
Because when women get comprehensive care instead of annual disease-hunting, everything changes. Energy returns. Confidence grows. Aging becomes something you do with strength and vitality instead of decline and resignation.
This is what women's health looks like when it focuses on thriving rather than just disease prevention.
Meet the Author
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Sabrina Falquier started crying at a medical conference in Napa. Not because something went wrong, but because something finally felt right. After years of seeing 18 patients a day in 15-minute slots, checking all the boxes of a successful medical career while feeling like something was missing, she found herself at Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives—a collaboration between Harvard School of Public Health and the Culinary Institute of America. The keynote speaker started talking, and tears came. One shoulder whispered all the possibilities. The other shoulder reminded her of all the reasons she couldn't pursue them. By day two and a half, she realized something that changed everything: her current employer was just that—her current employer. Not her destiny. Now triple board-certified in internal medicine, culinary medicine, and lifestyle medicine, Sabrina has built a career teaching medical students, consulting with community organizations like Olivewood Gardens, and showing people that the most powerful medicine might already be sitting in their pantry. This conversation wanders through the deeply personal terrain of leaving the medical highway for the frontage road, the science behind why plants matter so much, and the quiet courage it takes to listen when something inside you says "there has to be more than this." Key Moments & Takeaways 00:00 - 07:03 | The Conference That Changed Everything Sabrina shares the moment she knew she had to leave traditional primary care. Spoiler: it involved crying at a medical conference and realizing her employer wasn't her destiny. 07:03 - 15:22 | What Actually Is Culinary Medicine The definition that matters: using food and nutrition to prevent and treat disease through hands-on learning. Medical students cooking in kitchens. Communities learning that canned tomatoes still count. Evidence-based nutrition that doesn't require a Whole Foods budget. 1 5:22 - 24:36 | The Plant Kingdom Revolution Why plants matter beyond fiber and nutrients. Phytochemicals, polyphenols, and the compounds that actually make your cells work better. The science behind eating the rainbow (and no, Skittles don't count). 24:36 - 32:15 | Teaching the Next Generation Medical students learning to cook. Teenagers at Olivewood Gardens discovering that healthy food can taste incredible. The ripple effect of planting seeds with future doctors who will actually talk about food with their patients. 32:15 - 40:48 | Making It Work in Real Life The pantry strategy when you haven't been to the grocery store. Why frozen and canned vegetables are completely legitimate. How to think about food when your schedule is chaotic and your budget is real. 40:48 - 49:07 | Rancho La Puerta & What's Next Sabrina's work at the iconic wellness resort in Tecate, Mexico. Teaching in their kitchen. Her husband rediscovering his humanity there during the pandemic. The place where boot camp and hammocks coexist. 49:07 - 54:25 | Following the Pull The scary, beautiful reality of going off the linear path. No regrets. Financial instability sometimes. The practice of saying yes to mission-aligned opportunities and no to everything else. An invitation to listen to what's calling you next. Resources Mentioned Sensación Salud Website: https://www.sensationssalud.com/ Instagram: @sensationssalud Dr. Sabrina Falquier's Podcasts Culinary Medicine Recipe Olivewood Gardens and Learning CenterRancho La Puerta (Tecate, Mexico) - April 2025 dates available The Kitchenistas of National City documentary Culinary Medicine Resources American College of Lifestyle
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