Office workers with more light exposure at the office had longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, more physical activity and better quality of life compared to office workers with less light exposure in the workplace, reports a new study from Northwestern…
The Fertility Preservation Society of India, a global partner of the Oncofertility Consortium, is excited to host their inaugural conference: “Fertility Preservation- Current Concepts” on September 6-7, 2014 in New Delhi, India. The conference is endorsed by the International Society of…
Cyberbullying happens when one uses online communication to harrass, post disparaging remarks, or threaten someone via the Internet or by texting. Because it reaches an unlimited audience (unlike face-to-face bullying) its consequences can be extreme. Cyberbullying is particularly rampant among adolescents—95%…
More and more women (and men) are seeking treatments to fill out those crow’s feet, frown lines and wrinkles as well as puffing up lips. In response to the growing demand, more options are now available and people are reporting satisfactory…
An estimated 3 million people in the United States have celiac disease. In people with celiac disease, foods that contain gluten trigger production of antibodies that attack and damage the lining of the small intestine. Such damage limits the ability of…
The 8th annual Oncofertility Consortium Conference is just over a month away! This conference attracts more than 150 researchers, clinicians, advocates, and trainees from around the globe who are dedicated to ensuring reproductive health for cancer survivors whose disease or treatment…
Losing weight has been linked to numerous health benefits, but new research now shows another, added bonus: weight loss may also help to reduce the number of hot flashes in menopausal women.
A study recently published online in the journal of The…
National Physicians Cooperative member Leslie Appiah, MD, was featured in this month’s issue of MD Update. Dr. Appiah is an active member of the NPC and is also the Director of Oncofertility at the University of Kentucky, which she recently established…
On March 25, the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding challenges to the contraception mandate of the Affordable Care Act, with a decision expected to come down in late June. Here’s a rundown of the main aspects of this important case:
What is…
By: Christie Hunter
It is becoming a concern in many sectors that the population is aging as the baby boomers are one of the largest segments of the population. One of the parts of this is looking at cognitive ability and mental health…
By: Christie Hunter
Recent shootings and homicides on college campuses have been dramatically represented by the media as a sign of failure to treat students. When such a tragedy occurs, it is common to see mental health issues on the forefront. However,…
By: Christie Hunter
The study of the stigma of mental illness has been in the literature for decades. There remain various different theories regarding how this type of stigma affects individuals and numerous approaches for decreasing it. These theories and approaches have changed…
A recent feature in Cure magazine discusses adoption as another option for cancer survivors who want to build a family. Each patient is unique. The impact of a given treatment on fertility can vary and so can the time available before…
Dr. Woodruff’s article “Reproductive endocrinology: fertility in female survivors of childhood cancer” was recently listed as one of the top 20 articles in the field of reproduction and endocrinology since 2013. This article was listed at the 8th most influential in…
On July 12, Janet Woodcock, MD, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation & Research at the FDA appeared before the Subcommittee on Health of the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (pictured) questioned the Director about the inclusion of equal…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the final version of its National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection, Prevention and Management of Infertility. The National Action Plan developed over the course of seven years and began with an…
Women may soon bid farewell to birth control pills and welcome a new type of contraception in the form of microchip implants. An MIT startup backed by the Bill Gates Foundation plans to start pre-clinical testing for the birth control chip…
Most people know that human clinical trials are critical to prove safety and efficacy in new medications. This is also true for medical devices yet a recent study indicated that only 14% of device studies included sex as a key outcome…
Women who had their last child at age 33 years or older were more likely to reach extremes of longevity, according to an analysis published online June 23 in Menopause.
Women who had their last child when they were aged 33 to…
The heart is more forgiving than you may think — especially to adults who try to take charge of their health, a new Northwestern Medicine® study has found.
When adults in their 30s and 40s decide to drop unhealthy habits that are…
Yesterday, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that “requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage for contraception under the Affordable Care Act violated a federal law protecting religious freedom.” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. conceded that the government…
The use of certain acne products containing the active ingredients benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid can cause rare but serious and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions or severe irritation according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The acne products the FDA…
Disturbing reports about mismanagement at the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) medical centers had led to Congressional action. One of our Leadership Council members at the Women’s Health Research Institute, Melina R. Kibbe, MD, a vascular surgeon at the Feinberg School of Medicine…
Research presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology indicated that “women have different predisposing risk factors for gout than do men, who more often fit the stereotypical profile of patients with gout who consume foods that increase the risk of the…
Gonadotoxic therapies, such as chemotherapy, used to treat breast cancer can have harmful effects on fertility- they destroy ovarian follicles, or women’s reserve of ova, resulting in amenorrhea and/or early menopause. Additionally, many endocrine therapies used to treat breast cancer have…
Delinquency in youth predicts a significantly higher rate of violent death in adulthood — especially from firearms — and females are among the most vulnerable, reports a new Northwestern Medicine® study.
Delinquent females died violently at nearly five times the rate of…
Bone health in women has raised a lot of concern and generated many recommendations. Current guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that women ages 65 and older be screened routinely for osteoporosis. To reduce bone loss and…
A variety of patient education materials have been created for providers to use in the oncofertility care setting- materials that describe fertility preservation options in easy-to-understand language and have been designed in multiple platforms ranging from informational fact sheets to internet…
As the state with the highest rates of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in the U.S., Alaska is introducing a new campaign aimed at preventing pregnant women from drinking, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Starting in December, pregnancy tests will be placed…
Need to stay up to date on the latest clinical guidelines, recommendations, and opinions? Our Oncofertility Decision Tool Web Portal has an entire section devoted to bringing you ALL of the clinical guidelines affecting fertility preservation and oncology care. We designed…
Women’s Health Research Institute Director, Dr. Teresa Woodruff was featured in a recent Chicago Sun-Times piece. Discussing everything from her research, her advocacy efforts, and even her hobbies, Dr. Woodruff breaks down the importance of sex-based research. From basic science to…
Researchers have found that hormone replacement therapy in young women with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) led to increases in their bone mineral density, restoring levels to normal.
The findings provide important treatment information for women with POI and their physicians. Researchers at…
In an article featuring Dr. Melina Kibbe, Dr. Teresa Woodruff and Dr. Amy Paller, among others, Sandra Guy gives voice to the gender equity movement in medicine. The article, featured in the Fall 2013 edition of Society for Women Engineers, detailed…
Yesterday we announced our NEW Oncofertility Decision Tool Web Portal. This online portal serves as a one-stop-shop for health care providers in need of tools to facilitate fertility preservation conversations with their patients whose disease, or its treatment, threatens fertility. In…
The Oncofertility Consortium has created a Decision Tool Web Portal for health care providers who care for patients diagnosed with malignant and non-malignant conditions which may impair fertility (or treatment may impair fertility).
Decision Tools are designed to enable oncofertility stakeholders to take action.…
The FDA and the EPA are revising their joint fish consumption Advice and Questions & Answers to encourage pregnant women, those who may become pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, and young children to eat more fish and to eat a variety of fish from…
Dr. Teresa Woodruff and Dr. Melina Kibbe of the Women’s Health Research Institute’s Leadership Council were featured recently on WTTW Chicago Tonight. They discussed their activism for the inclusion of males and females in pre-clinical research studies. The recent shift by…
Despite the fact that fertilization requires mutual, active participation by both eggs and sperm, gender roles are often projected onto reproductive biology, leading to the portrayal of eggs as passive and sperm as active. For example, the opening credits in the…
The Up in Smoke: All You Need to Know about Cigarettes info graphic inspired today’s post.
We have all known about the harms of smoking on one’s health for quite some time, but the reality is, approximately 23 million women in the…
In case you missed Dr. Woodruff’s interview last week on Chicago Tonight, you can watch it here: Ending the Gender Bias in Research.
Thank you to Drs. Woodruff and Kibbe on their tireless work to promote the inclusion of females in all…
Dr. Teresa Woodruff, Director of the Oncofertility Consortium and Northwestern’s Women’s Health Research Institute will be featured on Chicago Tonight on WTTW, Channel 11, tonight at 7pm CST. Dr. Woodruff, along with Dr. Melina Kibbe from Northwestern Medicine, were driving forces…
Why should drugs be tested in both males and females? Because physiological differences between males and females affect drug activity. Factors like body weight, GI motility, intestinal enzyme activity, and kidney clearance rate affect how drugs move through the body and…
Heart disease risk increases with age for everyone, but symptoms of heart disease can be more evident particularly after menopause. Researchers for the first time have linked symptoms of heart failure to menopause, according to a new study from the Karolinska…
The 60 Minutes segment “Sex Matters: Drugs Can Affect Sexes Differently” is set to re-air this Sunday at 6:00pm central time. The Women’s Health Research Institute and it Leadership Council members worked with CBS on this show. The recent strides by…
Your spouse or partner says your snoring is driving him nuts. You wake up feeling unrested and irritable.
These are common signs that you may have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder that—left untreated—can take its toll on the body and…
Obesity appears to increase the risk of breast cancer–related deaths by about one-third in premenopausal but, surprisingly, not postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor–positive disease, investigators report.
An analysis of pooled data on 80,000 patients enrolled in 70 clinical trials showed that among…
Stephen Colbert’s show featured clips from the Women’s Health Research Institute’s recent 60 Minutes segment on sex inclusion in research. More than ever, it is essential to include male and female animals at the research level to ensure that sex is…
Collaborative depression care adapted to women’s health settings appears to improve depressive and functional outcomes and quality of depression care, according to a report online in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. Researchers at the University of Washington randomized 102 women to…
On Monday, May 12, 2014, Dr. Katherine Wisner, Director of the Asher Center for Research and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, was a featured television guest on WCIU, The U. Dr. Wisner discussed sex differences in…
Registration is now open for the 2014 Oncofertility Conference, Bench to Bedside: Oncofertility Advances in Males and Females which takes place September 22-23, 2014 in Chicago, IL.
This year’s conference will attract more than 150 researchers, clinicians, advocates and trainees from around…
The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University is proud to host a Cancer Survivors’ Celebration Walk & 5K on Sunday, June 1st in Chicago’s Grant Park. No pledges are required to participate and registration is open until May…
The Korean Society for Fertility Preservation
The Oncofertility Consortium is pleased to announce another Global Partner in Korea: The Korean Society for Fertility Preservation (KSFP). Please see below information provided by KSFP in both English and Korean and review the Oncofertility Global…
A new AHRQ-funded study suggests that emergency department physicians should be especially vigilant for the possibility of stroke in younger, female and nonwhite patients who complain of headache or dizziness. Based on AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data from 2008…
The Oncofertility Consortium is pleased to spread the word about an upcoming Stupid Cancer Meet-up with founder and CEO (and a wonderful friend of the Oncofertility Consortium), Matthew Zachary. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, June 25th - read more below!
Got cancer? Under…
The average age of menopause in the United States is around 51 years old, but the onset can widely vary. Premature menopause refers to menopause of onset at or before 40 years of age. This can occur because of a variety…
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is hosting a contest for songs and videos demonstrating the cutting edge science funded by the office of the director. The Oncofertility Consortium has two videos in the running and we’d love your support!
To…
It is only fitting that the theme for this year’s National Nurses Week is “Nurses: Leading the Way.” After all, nurses lead the way in showing an elderly patient how to manage his or her diabetes. They lead the way in…
The Oncofertility Consortium is excited to announce another Global Partner: The Cheil General Hospital (CGH) & Women’s Healthcare Center in Seoul, Korea! We had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Chanwoo Park last week at the Oncofertility Consortium offices here in Chicago,…
May Is National High Blood Pressure Education Month, and nearly one in three adults in the United States has high blood pressure, also called hypertension. High blood pressure is dangerous because it increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure,…
SHARE Cancer Support is hosting an educational event, Having Children After Cancer, on Wednesday, May 14th from 6:00-7:30pm EST. Dr. Diana Chavkin, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) specialist at Genesis Fertility and Reproductive Medicine, will discuss fertility preservation options before and after cancer treatment with a Q&A session to follow.…