Marsee Israel:  "well, i knew that i did not want to age like my mother aged. I didn't want to shrink up, dry up, shrivel up." 

As a nurse, Marsee was aware of the women's health initiative study that found hormone therapy increased the risk of certain cancers. So she opted for bioidentical hormones as an alternative.

Mainstream medical groups aren't aligned with the bioidentical trend. Though some doctors, like Erika Schwartz, believe in their benefits.
"They're proven scientifically." Schawartz says, " There's hundreds of studies that we have quoted in everything i write."

Bioidentical hormones aren't typically "off the shelf." Dr. Schwartz looks at blood test results and patient symptoms to come up with a compound pharmacy prescription.  "The beauty of bioidentical hormones is that you can tweak them to adjust them for the individual need," she says.  

Marsee feels like herself again, though her gynecologist keeps tabs on her while she uses bioidenticals prescribed by Dr. Schwartz. 

 "She's always, you know, suspicious that she may have to look out for something," Marsee says. "But that's okay. Let her do her job of looking for that stuff."