Since its inception in 1979, The Women’s Fund has hosted more than 170 educational lectures and seminars.  Seminars feature respected health professionals and are usually held over lunch. A sample of recent topics includes: panic attacks, de-cluttering your life, mind-body techniques to ease pain, and everyday depression. 

The Women's Fund typically presents three annual seminars for members and guests - the Wendy Haskell Meyer Seminar, the John P. McGovern Seminar and a Membership Seminar. Members of The Women's Fund receive a discount on seminar fees.

For more information about The Women's Fund seminars, please contact Allison Triplett.

About the Wendy Haskell Meyer Seminar:
Wendy Haskell Meyer was a long-time member of The Women’s Fund and the original author of our first publication, A Primer on Women’s Health, which has provided preventive health information to thousands of women since 1985.  Wendy’s professional accomplishments include serving as editor of Houston Home and Garden and Ultra magazines.  To many Women’s Fund members she was a friend and inspiration. She challenged women to take responsibility for their lives and to grow and change with the times.  After her death, The Women’s Fund began honoring her with a yearly spring seminar with topics to motivate women to seek healthier lifestyles and make more informed decisions about their health care. In 1994, a number of generous Women’s Fund members donated funds to make The Wendy Haskell Meyer Seminar a permanent annual program for The Women’s Fund. 

About the John P. McGovern Seminar:
 John P. McGovern, MD, was President of the Board of the John P. McGovern Foundation and founder of the McGovern Allergy Clinic, the world's largest private allergy clinic. Dr. McGovern was the author or co-author of more than 250 publications, including 20 books, in the medical sciences and humanities. He holds the first Fellow Distinguished Award of the American College of Allergy and Immunology and honorary degrees conferred by 24 colleges and universities. In 1991, Dr. McGovern generously endowed the annual John P. McGovern Seminar for The Women's Fund, which features topics on specialized information such as allergies, chemical dependency, depression, and over-the-counter medicines.

The Women’s Fund’s 18th annual John P. McGovern seminar was a great success!  Dr. Garret R. Lynch of Baylor presented “Breast cancer: Becoming an educated health care consumer,” to an audience of 81 captivated attendees. 

 

Dr. Lynch spoke about a variety of risk and protective factors across the life span that women need to consider for breast cancer prevention and screening, even as early as adolescence!  Did you know: research shows that regular aerobic exercise begun in the teenage years decreases the risk of breast cancer!  Women of all ages need to know their risk factors in order to decide whether the recommended monthly self breast exam and yearly physician manual exam are sufficient screening methods.  Any woman who has a mother or sister with breast cancer should begin diagnostic screening (mammogram, ultrasound, and/or MRI) when they reach the age that is 5 years younger than their relative was when they developed breast cancer.  (For example, a woman whose mother developed breast cancer at age 32 should begin diagnostic screening at age 27.) 

 

Women and their physicians also need to take into account risk factors of family history of other cancers, age of first menstruation, age of menopause, age of first pregnancy, use of hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives, dietary factors such as fat and alcohol intake, and previous radiation exposure.  Considering these risk factors from an early age will help women and their physicians determine when to start diagnostic screening, which diagnostic techniques to use, and whether screening for additional genetic risk factors is appropriate.

 

Based on evaluations completed by the seminar attendees:

100%   Reported learning something new

96%     Felt like they could apply that knowledge to their daily life

94%     Learned a new healthy strategy

90%     Could use that strategy to improve their life

90%      Would share the knowledge with someone

94%      Thought the experience was personally beneficial