A Brand New Day

Sunny San Diego, California served as the location for the third annual PCOSupport International Conference held from June 1st through June 3rd. Sessions were located at the beautiful Town and Country Resort and the 190 conference attendees from across the country were treated to a three day PCOS educational feast with topics ranging from "PCOS Making the Diagnosis" to "PCOS Long Term Health Concerns." Many PCOSA members got the rare opportunity to meet in person those they network with regarding PCOSupport efforts on a daily basis via email and Internet activities.

Kristin Rencher, PCOSupport Executive Director, opened up the exciting event on Thursday, June 1st with a welcome speech and the introduction of the first presenter, Dr. Walter Futterweit, 2000 Conference Medical Chair. The day was filled with presentations from the top names in PCOS research including Dr. Jeff Chang, Dr. Mark Perloe, Dr. Ron Feinberg, Dr. Sam Thatcher, Dr. Geoffrey Redmond, Dr. Rick Legro and Dr. Armand Newman. A luncheon sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb featured an update on the status of Vaniqa, a topical cream to reduce unwanted hair growth awaiting FDA approval. The panel discussion for the presenters from this day was moderated by Dr. Mark Perloe. Evening events included a "Meet and Greet for Women and Physicians" and a hospitality suite hosted by the Southern California Chapters.

Friday, June 2nd included more excellent PCOS educational presentations including those by Dr. Anne Corbould, Dr. Bernard Corenblum, Dr. Stephen Sawin, Toni Weschler, Martha McKittrick, and Lori Barnes. Of course, there were even more opportunities for interactions between the professional presenters and attendees. A luncheon was sponsored by Insmed Pharmaceuticals with an update on present research regarding the latest medication in development for PCOS symptoms, D Chiro Inositol, which still awaits FDA approval. Dr. Ron Feinberg moderated the panel discussions for the day’s presenters. That evening, a PCOSupport Chapter Leadership Event was presented by Lesa Childers with special guests, Dr. Stephen Sawin, Dr. Sam Thatcher and Dr. Ron Feinberg.

The final day of the conference, Saturday June 3rd, featured presentations by Dr. Silva Arslanian, Dr. John Marshall, Dr, Anne Taylor, Dr. Barry Sears and Dr. Stephen Spandorfer. Several invaluable volunteers were honored for their efforts of the past year at the Awards Luncheon. Executive Director, Kristin Rencher was presented with a Weekend Vacation by the PCOSA members in appreciation of her dedication and hard work this past year.

The final event of the conference was the Gala Banquet on Saturday night. A documentary film by Randi Cecchine called "Scrambled" was the featured event of the evening. The audience was clearly emotionally moved by the presentation of one woman’s journey toward a better understanding of PCOS. Kristin Rencher announced that the 2001 PCOSupport International Conference will be held in Philadelphia, PA and introduced Dr. Ron Feinberg as next year’s Conference Medical Chair. Dr. Feinberg is involved in many educational efforts related to PCOS and serves as the Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Committee for the PCOS pavilion of OBGYN.net. A Share Your Story session facilitated by PCOSA founder, Christine Gray Dezarn, concluded conference activities.

When asked about her impressions of the conference, PCOSA Executive Director, Kristin Rencher stated, "We were thrilled with the fantastic quality of the presentations by doctors and other presenters at this year’s conference. We look forward to Philadelphia in 2001 and are dedicated to making that event more educational and more successful than ever!"

Interviews with many of the conference presenters were coordinated by Barbara Nesbitt of OBGYN.net. Barb’s energetic personality and enthusiasm for the event resulted in several presenters being convinced to actually interview each other.

Lesa