A free event focused on women’s health and medical cannabis will take place at London’s Foundling Museum on Monday 19th October, giving patients the chance to put their questions directly to speakers and share their experiences of treatment.
Organised by We, The Patients with PatientsCann UK, Her Medicine is the European patient coalition’s first event dedicated to women’s health. With capacity for 100 people, drawn mainly from the patient community, organisers say tickets have sold out with a waiting list available.
Talks and panels will cover endometriosis, menopause, chronic pain and hormonal health, with clinicians and patients sharing the stage. The organisers say patients’ own questions will guide the discussions.
“Women are asked to manage their conditions with evidence that was largely gathered in male bodies, and then told they are being difficult when it does not work. Her Medicine is an afternoon where their questions come first,” said Carola Pérez of We, The Patients.
The event comes against a backdrop of women reporting that their health concerns are often overlooked or dismissed. In the government’s 2021 survey informing the Women’s Health Strategy for England, 84% of respondents said there had been times when they, or the woman they were answering on behalf of, had not been listened to by healthcare professionals.
More recently, Endometriosis UK’s 2026 report found an average wait of nine years and four months from first visiting a doctor with symptoms to receiving a diagnosis. The findings were based on a survey of 3,075 people diagnosed in the UK since 2015.
Speakers at Her Medicine include Dr Shabnam Sarshar, Dr Callie Seaman, Dr Wendy Holden and Danny Andrea, alongside patient Elizabeth Spence and carer Heidi Whitman.
Sarshar previously spoke to leafie about the gender health gap, highlighting how it affects common conditions including endometriosis, menopause and fibromyalgia.
Attendees will also be able to bring their own prescribed medicine for free on-site terpene analysis provided by Ka Aromatic Sensory Translation (KAST). Terpenes are aromatic compounds found in cannabis with therapeutic benefits. Participants will receive a profile of their medicine’s terpenes, with someone available to explain the results. The organisers say the analysis service will give patients more information about their prescriptions beyond the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) figures on the label.
A separate, well-ventilated room will allow patients to take their prescribed medication indoors. The venue will also offer a quiet space and step-free access.
“An event for women must work for women. That means a room where you can take your own medicine without standing outside in the cold, and speakers who are used to being asked the hard questions,” said Mohammad Wasway of PatientsCann UK.
The afternoon will close with a free sound bath, while a Thai massage will be raffled among attendees.
Her Medicine runs from 1 pm to 5.35 pm at the Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London, on Monday 19th October, with talks beginning at 1.30 pm. People hoping to attend can join the Eventbrite waiting list. For those unable to attend the event sesssions be published on the We, The Patients YouTube channel.
