Keeping the Women we Love Healthy

In August 2107, our very own Dr. Andrea LaCroix presented the health benefits of sleep during the Howell Lecture Series I mproving the Snooze: Sleepi ng Better as we Age .  "Almost everything is related in some way to our ability to function as we grow older; and sleep is perhaps one of the most important functions,"  comments Dr. LaCroix.  She, along with Dr. Carole Banka, Dr. Meg Richman and Board Chair and Registered Nurse Abigail D'Agostino, are part of the Foundation's Speakers Service; a newly launched initiative focused on extending the organization's mission of "keeping the women we love healthy." The 5 takeaways of her presentation are: 1. Sleep is regulated by a process called homeostatic process.  It means that the body is set up to want to be in balance with other internal processes. Our sleep drive -- when we get tired and feel sleepy, that drive to sleep -- is balanced with the way we operate while awake.  There are many internal and...

The bottom line is that research  IS  the cornerstone of women's health. The exclusion of female subjects in current research efforts translates into women being misdiagnosed and mistreated when dealing with illness. In the era of personalized medicine, a 'one-size-fits-all' approach on the basis of results from male research subjects, places women at a higher health risk. Why should YOU care about women’s health research? When your doctor discusses alternative treatments for Alzheimer's disease, it started with research... When we know about the differences between men and women, and heart health, it started with research... When you discuss mammography screening as a guideline to breast health, it started with research... When you take control of your health in an informed manner, chances are... it started with research! Research is how we know that women and men: Do not have heart attacks the same way. Do not face stress the same way. Do not react ...

Pictured above: 2018 Howell Scholars with Howell Co-Chair Kathleen Franklin & CSUPERB Executive Director, Susan Baxter Every year, during our first luncheon for the year, we ratify a partnership that advances women’s health at its basic level –research; two great organizations aligned to provide opportunities for students to have access to careers in the biomedical research field. “CSUPERB believes that the best way to engage, recruit and retain students in life science careers is to provide access to and opportunities in real-world biotechnology research settings. We know that these experiences are particularly effective at engaging and retaining students who are the first in their families to attend college or are from communities underrepresented in the life sciences. By working with CSU faculty in the classroom and on research problems, students build a solid foundation for successful life science careers”, comments Susan Baxter, Executive Director, CSUPERB, and liaison...

In February, the Howell Foundation was honored to have Dr. Anthony De Maria present the latest advances in medical and surgical treatment of heart disease.  He is the Judith and Jack White Chair of Cardiology and Founding Director of the UCSD Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center Dr. Anthony DeMaria’s presentation talked about the most common heart afflictions, the risk factors and the new technology being developed to diagnose, treat and, most importantly, prevent heart disease. Today, 1.4 million people per year have a heart attack; 800,000 people have strokes.  As a matter of fact, he estimated that in the time it took us to eat lunch during his presentation (20 minutes), around 60 Americans had already lost their lives from heart disease.  The sad truth is that cardiovascular disease claims a victim in this country EVERY 30 SECONDS. Even though questions remain about the onset of heart disease, what we know very well are the predisposing causes and risk factors....

Kathleen Franklin (left) and Abigail de Agostino (right) are the new Howell Foundation Co-chairs.  They are responsible for leading our team into ensuring that women are informed on the importance of women's health research! “I have written about both, Kathleen and Abigail before,” comments fellow Howell Board Member Carolyn Northrup.  “I am excited about the growth the Foundation is experiencing and am delighted to be collaborating with them. I truly admire their passion for women’s health!” If there is someone who clearly understands the need for women’s health research, it’s Kathleen Franklin .  Serving on the Board of Directors of the Howell Foundation since 2006, she has seen first-hand the efforts the Foundation has put forth to keeping the women we love healthy.  "The Foundation has come a long way since I joined the Board over 10 years ago!" Kathleen Franklin is retired Superintendent of a large territory of parks and beaches in the Malibu area. ...

We think and talk a lot about how symptoms of heart attacks differ in women, and that is a crucially important topic. As cholesterol medications become more widely used, atherosclerosis is predicted to decrease leading to a decrease in heart attacks. Furthermore, rapid emergency treatment of heart attacks means fewer heart attacks are fatal or debilitating. On the other hand, we do not devote as much time to discussions of heart failure.  "Almost 6 million Americans are living with heart failure, a condition in which the heart is not able to pump enough blood to support the other organs of the body.  Heart failure appears to strike men to a greater extent than women, but it is still a serious consideration in women", comments Dr. Carole Banka, Associate Project Scientist in the Department of Medicine at UCSD School of Medicine Did you know that: More American women die of heart disease than of all forms of cancer combined?  Most women do not know that heart dis...

Going from red to pink in 30 seconds and a call to put my money where my mouth is! I was sitting on the couch just last week when a sensitive issue on women’s health came up:  Research was showing that breast cancer survivors had a higher risk for heart disease . Great...  Just GREAT!  I was immediately reminded of the struggles I had to go through to make sure I got the preventive care I needed after my diagnosis.  Because of the type of insurance coverage, I depended on ‘official’ published guidelines.  That meant that if I wanted additional screening, I had to either wait because of these suggested “guidelines”, or pay out of pocket to get a mammogram for my peace of mind (which doesn’t come cheap!).  What if I have a history of breast cancer in my family? I don’t. And yet I still was diagnosed with it.  Much has been said about screening for prevention; however one can also ascertain that inappropriate or unnecessary screening...