Common Corpus No. 6
For all women, for life
Welcome back to Common Corpus, our weekly curation of the best evidence-based women’s health content designed to help you navigate, optimize, and advocate for your well-being at every stage of life.
This week, we look at the renaming of PCOS in the hopes of improving care for the condition, why colorectal cancer should be on every woman’s radar, how sleep apnea looks different in women, and how AI deep learning models may hold the potential to improve breast cancer screening, among much more.
We hope you find this week’s resources insightful, useful, and empowering as you navigate your own health journey. If you’re enjoying Common Corpus and finding it useful, please share it with anyone else who might be interested.
And if you want to learn more about what Common Corpus is, and why we do what we do, please visit our About page.
News & Noteworthy
What’s making the news in women’s health
PCOS has been renamed PMOS in the hopes of better care for millions of women
After more than a decade of global campaigning driven by patient advocacy, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is officially being renamed to Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) to better reflect its complex, whole-body impact.
The misleading term “polycystic” often confused both patients and doctors, creating a false impression that the condition strictly involved dangerous ovarian cysts and was solely a gynaecological or fertility issue.
In reality, the syndrome is a profound hormonal and metabolic disorder driven by insulin resistance and androgen imbalances, which significantly increases a woman’s risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The renaming effort, spearheaded by endocrinologist Prof. Helena Teede and involving 56 medical societies across six continents, was heavily influenced by patient representatives who have suffered through delayed diagnoses and dismissive medical care.
Many women have historically been told by doctors that their diagnosis only mattered if they wanted to get pregnant, while their broader metabolic and mental health symptoms were ignored.
By emphasizing the “polyendocrine” and “metabolic” realities, the new name signals a crucial shift away from the harmful perception of a purely “reproductive” condition, validating the multi-system burden that many women have experienced.
The takeaway: This landmark renaming matters immensely for the estimated 170 million women globally living with the condition, as well as the clinicians responsible for their care. By officially shifting the medical focus from isolated ovarian symptoms to the entire metabolic system, this change empowers women to finally demand comprehensive, whole-body healthcare rather than just fertility-focused interventions.
LINK, FULL ANNOUNCEMENT (from The Lancet)
Why colorectal cancer is missed more often in women
A new report highlights how early warning signs of colorectal cancer in women are frequently dismissed or misdiagnosed as routine gynaecological or hormonal issues, leading to dangerously delayed care.
Women frequently experience subtle symptoms of colon cancer—such as severe fatigue, vague abdominal discomfort, or iron-deficiency anemia caused by slow internal bleeding.
Because these symptoms are incredibly common, both patients and doctors often mistakenly attribute them to menstrual cycles, perimenopause, postpartum recovery, or conditions like IBS and endometriosis.
Iron-deficiency anemia is a prime example of this gender bias in diagnostics; in women, it is routinely blamed on heavy periods and left un-investigated, whereas the exact same symptom in a man typically triggers an urgent cancer workup.
Medical experts stress that while benign causes like hemorrhoids are common, any persistent red flags—especially unexplained anemia, new constipation or diarrhea, thinning stool, or blood in the stool—must be thoroughly evaluated with a colonoscopy.
Gastroenterologists urge women to persistently advocate for themselves if their symptoms are brushed off as “just hormones,” advising them to demand clear explanations and seek second opinions or specialist referrals if they don’t feel heard.
Key Takeaways: This article is critical reading for women of all ages, but especially younger women and the clinicians who treat them. The rise in colorectal cancer rates in men and women under 50 means younger women/people need to be better informed of the risks and possible symptoms. This is particularly important for women because understanding how colorectal cancer can mask itself behind everyday female health complaints is key for women to know how to advocate for potentially life-saving diagnostic testing.
The Latest Research
The latest in academic research in women’s health
AI outperforms breast density classifications in predicting cancer risk
A new study reveals that an AI-driven deep learning model outperforms traditional radiologist assessments of breast density in predicting a woman’s future risk of breast cancer. By analyzing over 123,000 screening mammograms, researchers discovered that the deep learning model demonstrated significantly higher accuracy in predicting future cancer than breast density alone and identifying which patients were at the highest risk for dangerous false-negative results. This research is incredibly timely and matters deeply for women navigating routine mammograms, especially as some countries have shifted to mandatory notification of breast density classification (BI-RADS C or D) (e.g., the US and most provinces in Canada), while others debate the introduction of mandatory notification (e.g., the UK). While relying strictly on binary breast density categories can either trigger unnecessary anxiety or falsely reassure patients, the AI model appears to hold the promise of a more precise, personalized risk calculation in decisions around supplemental imaging to routine mammography.
Listen & Learn
The latest in women’s health audio content worth your time
Decoding better sleep with Dr. Jade Wu
In a deeply practical episode of Decoding Women’s Health, Dr. Elizabeth Poynor and sleep psychologist Dr. Jade Wu tackle the complex, frustrating reality of sleep disruptions, especially during midlife . This conversation is essential listening for women who are struggling with insomnia, sleep deprivation, shifting hormones, and the exhausting cycle of sleep anxiety. Dr. Wu breaks down what sleep architecture should look like, the differences between sleep deprivation, insomnia and sleep apnea, how sleep changes for women over the life-course, and how sleep apnea can present quite differently in women than in men. Modern wellness culture often turns sleep into a rigid, trackable metric, but Dr. Wu fundamentally reframes sleep not as a problem to be forcibly controlled, but as a biological process that responds best to patience. She argues that the true measure of a good night's rest comes from how alert you feel during the day, rather than relying on data from wearable fitness trackers to tell you about your sleep.
Why failing first no longer works for fertility
In this solo episode of the As a Woman podcast, board-certified reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Natalie Crawford challenges the standard that requires women to "fail" at getting pregnant for a full year before receiving fertility assistance. She argues that fertility is an important indicator of inflammation and overall health, and that rising fertility rates both make proactive screening important for assessing women’s health and for giving them agency in their reproductive lives, where fertility is inherently finite. While this argument raises important implicit questions around feasibility and cost-effectiveness in different healthcare systems, it nonetheless fits into broader discussions about the need for greater preventative care in healthcare systems more generally. A major takeaway is Dr. Crawford’s breakdown of the critical 90-day biological window prior to conception, during which specific, actionable metabolic choices can drastically reduce chronic inflammation and measurably improve both egg and sperm quality. This episode will be important listening for anyone planning for a future family, actively trying to conceive, or simply seeking to better understand their own biological timelines.
The Global Perspective
Women’s health around the world
New maternity hospital opens in the world’s largest refugee camp
A newly opened maternal hospital in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, is bringing life-saving obstetric care directly to the world's largest refugee camp. This facility will serve the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya women living there, who have historically faced highly dangerous conditions during childbirth. Previously, women experiencing obstructed labor or complications had to endure gruelling journeys on bamboo stretchers to reach specialist care outside the camp, often resulting in tragic, preventable deaths. Now, equipped to perform C-sections and ultrasounds, this hospital provides round-the-clock emergency services right where these women live. Amidst severe foreign aid cuts that have left the refugee population increasingly vulnerable, this facility offers a critical beacon of safety, ensuring these mothers finally have a fighting chance at a secure delivery.
Common Interest
Quick hits that we found interesting, thought-provoking, or useful this week
The state of Missouri recently revoked a law banning judges from delaying divorce proceedings because a spouse is pregnant, a crucial step towards protecting women from domestic abuse. Shockingly, this is not the only US state where this continues to be common practice. LINK
May 8th was World Ovarian Cancer Day. Do you know the risk factors and symptoms? LINK
In honour of (North American) Mother’s Day, some words of wisdom from moms LINK