Opinion Series: Why Femtech is Important to Me
Sunny Spies and daughter Kandice, 2016
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mind The Gap Services.
This year has seen many changes in the FemTech world and as the new year approaches, we are all filled with uncertainty – Will women’s health still be a priority? Will founders still receive funding or will they have to take a backseat? Will this community of founders, supporters and technology continue to grow?
Normally, I tend to keep things neutral but now, I’m fired up. Women’s health should continue to be a priority. Why? Not only do women make up more than 50% of the population in the United States but the world ratio of men to women in the population is 101 to 100. We are not a “minority” when we make up half of the population. So how does women’s health keep getting pushed to the background when we are the ones that ensure creation? When was the last time we saw a human reproduce asexually?
My background….
I’m from a small farm town in Central Illinois where religion is as important as breathing to most families. As a teenager, women’s health issues were never discussed with me as my family found it “embarrassing” to talk about things like menstruation, birth control and pregnancy. They were firm believers in what happened to women needed to stay private. Sure, birth control was an option “for those that didn’t follow the word of the Lord” but being raised in a Baptist household, that discussion was strictly forbidden when concerning me. I remember asking about periods as I was approaching puberty and being told “You’ll learn about that in health class.” That class was taught by a man 2 years after I started having periods, and the female reproductive system was hardly discussed since I was the only female in the classroom. My education about periods, hormones and pregnancy came from magazines I found in the library. Trust me, a 14 year old girl should not get period advice from Cosmopolitan but that’s where my knowledge as a young woman came from.
But what wasn’t discussed also translated into “your health concerns are not important.” My entire life I have fought with debilitating cramping during that “time of the month,” so I never asked my doctor what caused them or how I could take something to reduce the cramps. Hormonal birth control could have helped me during my teenage years to alleviate those cramps! I didn’t learn from a reliable source about how beneficial these little pills could be until after I had my daughter at 19. OH, and having a child? While I love my daughter, birth control could have certainly prevented pregnancy.
So now you are wondering WHAT FemTech has to do with my life and why I’m so freaking passionate about it….
That cool little birth control pill that I found out the wonders of at 19? There are so many more options available now for birth control for my daughter instead of just the standard IUD or birth control pill. There are FemTech companies like Ocon Therapeutics that released a contraceptive ball that is safer than the IUD or the option for a disintegrating pill like Femlyv for those that have problems with traditional oral contraceptives. We now have apps like Clue to track cycles instead of just using the calendar and guessing when we are ovulating. There are so many amazing FemTech creations to help plan or prevent pregnancy!
But what do other FemTech innovations mean to me and my passion….
Fast forward two decades and now I’m in my 40’s. Guess what else wasn’t a topic in my house? The importance of mammograms and how certain things are genetic! I’m not sure my mother even had one when I was living in her house because it was never discussed.
I know it is recommended to start having mammograms at age 40, but at that time, I was on a military assignment in South Korea. Due to COVID restrictions that were still very active, I wasn’t authorized to receive one. I returned to the United States at the end of 2022 and had to fight through the military red tape to get a referral from a military doctor. In June of 2023 at 42, I had my first mammogram. That day, my world was rocked because I found out I was the lucky part of the female population that has dense breast tissue and would have to go back for an ultrasound.
After speaking to the doctor, we started going through causes of dense breast tissue – Low BMI? Nope. Did I breastfeed after my pregnancies? Both times and the second one for a whopping 15 months! Was I on hormonal replacement therapy for menopause? Nope, I still have a period every 28 days. Is there a history of dense breast tissue in your family? That one…...I couldn’t answer. Again, struck by the “your health concerns aren’t important” family curse.
Let’s shift away from me for a moment and look at a brief history of mammograms. The first mammogram was performed in 1913 though it was very rudimentary. In 1965, the first unit for performing mammograms was created. In 1981, and ironically the year I was born, the amount of radiation used in mammograms was reduced to create a clearer picture. In 2011, the FDA approved 3D mammogram technology. In 2023, GE Healthcare released the MyBreastAI Suite to aid clinicians in finding breast cancer. This technology has not only helped with certainty of findings and case scores to help radiologists reduce report reading time by over 50%, but it also helps aid in identifying regions of interest and completes a breast density assessment thanks to the power of AI.
Today and the future….
Here we are, at the end of 2024….and did you know that not only are there still hospitals and mammogram facilities that do NOT have 3D mammogram machines, but there are some insurance companies that do NOT authorize payment for a 3D mammogram? Currently about 90% of clinics that perform mammograms have 3D technology, but that still doesn’t mean women have the option for them. Insurance companies are required to cover the cost of a screening mammogram but if the screening is done using 3D, the full cost may not be covered. Another case of “your health concerns aren’t important” but on a larger scope.
This year, I was lucky enough to not only move to an area with 3D mammogram technology, but I’m also fortunate enough that my insurance does cover them. Had I moved back to small town Illinois after retiring from the military, I wouldn’t have been so lucky. The closest option for a 3D mammogram to my small hometown is over two hours away.
Back to the importance of FemTech, my daughter now lives in a small central Illinois town. You guessed it, she lives near where I did prior to joining the military. In 16 years, I do not want her to have to worry about concerns of dense breast tissue, mammograms followed by ultrasounds because she doesn’t have easy access to 3D mammogram technology or lack of insurance coverage for 3D mammograms.
The future of FemTech is so important to not just my generation but the generations to come. Our daughters, nieces, and granddaughters should never feel as if they are inferior because women’s health took a backseat for so long. Unlike my family and how I was raised, MY daughter’s health concerns ARE important to me, and I am doing my part to ensure all of our voices are heard.
Referenced Articles
https://xtalks.com/fda-approves-femlyv-as-first-dissolvable-oral-contraceptive-3745/
