Sep. 22--EL PASO -- Women have a lot of questions about their bodies and the things time and disease can do to them.
But they don't always reach out for answers.
Maybe events -- free events like the Women's Health Seminar on Tuesday at Las Palmas LifeCare Center -- can lend a helping hand.
The 6 p.m. symposium brings together a panel of physicians and members of a public often thirsty for knowledge but not always sure how to get it.
Each panelist -- an internal medicine doctor, an endocrinologist and two ob-gyns -- will discuss topics such as menopause, thyroid disease, diabetes, minimally invasive gynecological surgery and women's health care in general.
"There's a real thirst for knowledge about medical types of issues," said Terri Wyatt, marketing director for Las Palmas Medical Center and one of the organizers of Tuesday's event.
The seminar is designed to provide information in a comfortable environment for women of all income and insurance-coverage levels.
That's one reason Dr. Rick Farnam, an obstetrics-gynecology physician, agreed to be one of the panelists.
He's an El Paso native who lived out of the area for 13 years before returning two years ago. Farnam is keenly aware of the challenges facing border cities, where lower literacy rates and a higher number of uninsured residents can be a volatile formula when it comes to health.
"I think there's a lot of information and misinformation out there about women's health care, particularly in this town," said Farnam,
of Sun West Gynecology Associates. "Having lived in other cities, there might be a lower literacy rate for people who are not aware of technical advances of medicine e and what the options are."
His practice specializes in minimally invasive gynecology, one of the topics of Tuesday's talk.
"Some people are under the impression that you have to have a big incision to get your tubes tied. ... That was the standard for years," he said. "Now we're tying tubes in the office, and have been for five or six years."
It's partly the result of the medical world's rapidly evolving technology.
"Medicine is so diverse now," Farnam said. "It's hard enough for a practitioner to keep up with the advances in their own specialty, much less keep abreast of other things."
Wyatt stressed that the seminar is designed to help women keep up and satisfy their curiosity about conditions they, their loved ones or close friends may have.
They'll hear presentations, and then the floor will be opened to questions for the physician panel. The seminar will last about 90 minutes, Wyatt said.
"We have an internal medicine doctor, which is what men and women both should have, someone who is going to literally check you head to toe. That's your first line of defense," Wyatt said.
"The physician will give an overall view of things women should know about, and will talk about things women need to be very aware of, like osteoporosis, thyroid disease, diabetes."
Osteoporosis, she noted, "is a silent killer among women."
"As women age, their bones become more brittle, especially the more elderly they are," she said. "If they fall and break a hip, it often can lead to other types of things, and they can end up dying."
Thyroid disease can often go undetected, especially if a woman does not see a doctor regularly.
"If they are overly tired or prone to tears, overly sensitive or gain weight, people automatically think, 'Oh, I'm just going through menopause.' That's not necessarily the case," Wyatt said.
The seminar is one of the first in what organizers hope will be a monthly series. It grew out of the hospital's annual "Hot Ticket to Women's Health" expo in June.
"We felt that by offering the seminars on a periodic basis that people would have more one-on-one time with the physicians," Wyatt said.
The first one was Aug. 27 and focused on chronic back pain.
"We were blown away by the attendance, that many people had this and were not sure what to do," Wyatt said. She noted that 70 people turned out for the first-time event.
There is also a promotional aspect to all of this. As the hospital's marketing director, Wyatt has to help spread the word about the company's various products and services.
"I work with our product line leaders to develop things for the community to educate them on what we do," she explained.
The bottom line is one thing, she added, but there's a bigger mission behind programming like the Women's Health Seminar.
"If you do a good job and can teach people, that's what's important," she said. "Health care's our mission."
Doug Pullen may be reached at dpullen@elpasotimes.com; 546-6397.
Details
--What: Women's Health Seminar.
--When: 6 p.m. Tuesday.
--Where: Las Palmas LifeCare Center, 3333 N. Mesa.
--How much: Free.
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Copyright (C) 2008 El Paso Times, Texas