Endless POFibilities -- April 2001

IPOFA Support Group CONFERENCE 2001

Please join us Friday Sept 28 - Monday, October 1, 2001 in Alexandria, VA for our 2001 conference! We have a great weekend planned for women with POF, their families, friends and health care providers.

Comments about the September 2000 Conference:

"The weekend conference enabled me to really see that there are other women who are sharing my feelings about POF."

"I came with a lot of questions and I never had to ask one."

"I am thoroughly impressed with the POF organization."

"The weekend was really helpful! I learned such helpful information about where I am headed in the future and have a greater understand what I am experiencing now."

"Incredible! The chance to talk with others. To know that I am not alone and to learn from the speakers. Thank you for creating this experience for all of us."
"Up until I attended the conference I thought this was an uncommon thing, in fact, I thought I was one in a million. But the weekend has helped me to understand I’m not alone and that it’s OK to feel sad about it. It was especially good for me to sit and talk to other women who understand me, something I haven’t had since my diagnosis."

"The POF open session with the therapist was incredible!"

From a husband who attended - "It helped me understand more about my wife’s concerns and fears. I never understood the condition. I now have a better idea of what’s going on."

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

Friday evening Sept 28th - informal get-together

Sat and Sun Sept 29 and 30 -sessions all day.

Speakers include:
Robert W. Rebar, MD
Associate Executive Director, American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Doctor Rebar is often called "the guru of POF".

Lawrence Nelson, MD
Well known to most of us as a research scientist/physician at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Head of the Gynecologic Endocrinology Unit, Section on Women’s Health Research, in the Developmental Endocrinology Branch of NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

John David Gordon, MD
Dr. Gordon is Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Subspecialty Board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology. He is an Associate Clinical Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC. Topic - Donor Egg

Robert J. Hedaya, MD
Author of The Anti-Depressant Survival Program

Melanie Flossman
Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She will lead open sessions for women with POF and for family/friends of POFers.

Additional sessions include : HRT; exercise; adoption options; spirituality; getting the most out of your insurance; starting a support group; massage therapy; and advocacy.

Saturday night - please join us for dinner. Our dinner speaker will be David Schlessinger, Ph.D., chief of the NIA’s Laboratory of Genetics in Baltimore. He was on the team that recently discovered a gene for POF. You can read more about that discovery in this same newsletter.

Monday, Oct 1 - optional
tour of NIH; meet with your representatives; tour of Washington, DC; session with personal trainer.

As you can see we have a great line-up planned. We’re hoping to see many of you there!

Registration packets will be mailed in May. Plan to register early to save your space! We anticipate this year’s conference to be our best to date. Any questions please contact Catherine Corp at POF2@aol.com or call the support line at 703 913-4787.

Interested in volunteering at the Conference this year? OR, do you have some extra time this summer to help us get ready for it? Any and all help is appreciated! Contact Catherine Corp at POF2@aol.com or or call the support line at 703 913-4787.

If you'd like to be notified when preregistration is available, please email Jackie Curtis at pofsg@yahoo.com.

Why Women Get POF? Study UPDATE