"I felt under prepared": Hastings mum urges for better support for surgical menopause
44-year-old Kate Dyson is urging for aftercare and advice to become more readily available after being plunged into early menopause
Last updated 12th Nov 2025
A Hastings mum is urging for better aftercare after being plunged into early menopause by surgery.
44-year-old Kate Dyson says she felt "under prepared" before having a hysterectomy four years ago, then both ovaries removed six months ago.
"For me personally, that meant that even though I was asking the right questions, I was asking about HRT and follow-up, there wasn't an awful lot of answers.
"It tends to be a bit more of like, "well, let's wait and see, let's speak after the operation, we'll be able to know more then." Since, she is at the forefront of the SURGE Menopause campaign, which advocates for more information about the impacts of surgical menopause, guaranteed access to hormone replacement therapy, and improved follow up care.
According to the group's website, 95% of women who have their ovaries removed leave hospital without receiving HRT.
It adds that 85% of women in surgical menopause felt their GP had inadequate knowledge about providing "appropriate care and support" for their health afterwards.
Kate tells us that if she'd had the support, it would have made a huge difference:
"Mentally, I would have been able to prepare for the operation and prepare for life afterwards.
"I think I would have had a better plan in place to manage my symptoms with HRT.
"Having that partnership between the consultants and surgeons and primary care needs to be a lot better.
"It's not enough to just ask women to go and visit their GP after they when they're ready to - we really need that that that handover of care is established between the consultant and the GP.
"And had I had that, I think that I would have felt in a much less vulnerable state."
She's hoping that her website will become "a place of support not only for for women who need to find out about surgical menopause" but also also a space in which clinicians can use to find out more about surgical menopause.
We've contacted the Department for Health and Social Care for comment.