If the 500 Trojan women attending the 2010 USC Womens Conference were looking for empowerment, they may have found it in the words of Helga Van Herle, visiting associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, who promoted the new USC Womens Cardiovascular Center in a session about heart health.

Women have to be their own, best advocates, said Van Herle, who, along with Leslie Saxon, professor of clinical medicine and chief of cardiovascular medicine at the Keck School, talked to women about the latest in prevention, screening and treatment for the biggest threat to womens healthheart disease.

The Womens Conference was presented March 12 at the University Park Campus by the USC Alumni Association. The Doctors of USC and the USC School of Pharmacy were among the sponsors. Women Empowering Women featured a daylong program celebrating women and promoting personal growth. Health and wellness workshops focused on breast cancer, Alzheimers disease, heart health and stress relief.

Morning health and wellness workshops highlighted Alzheimers disease and breast cancer. Roberta Diaz Brinton, professor at the USC School of Pharmacy, spoke about the effects of Alzheimers disease and gave tips on how women can reduce their risk of developing the condition. According to her, 95 percent of Alzheimers is related to age, but it is preventable. Brinton encouraged women to eat a healthy diet, such as a Mediterranean diet high in healthy fats, fruits and vegetables.

You are what you eat, she said, adding that women should also exercise regularly. She also shared her work on natural and synthetic hormones, which are used to increase neural activity.

In the breast cancer workshop, Christy Russell, associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine and director of the Harold E. and Henrietta C. Lee Breast Center at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, discussed breast cancer risk assessment and management.

She emphasized minimizing postmenopausal hormone use, reducing alcohol consumption and increasing physical activity as modifiable ways to reduce breast cancer risk.

Stephen Sener, professor of clinical surgery and chief of the division of surgical oncology at Keck and a member of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital, addressed recent controversy surrounding breast cancer screening recommendations. He advocated for a continuation of the guidelines set by the American Cancer Society, which recommend yearly mammograms starting at age 40. Sener pointed to a drastic reduction in mortality rates in the past 15 years as proof that screening works.

In the afternoon workshops, an emphasis was made on heart health and stress relief. Saxon and Van Herle pointed out that some of the biggest cardiovascular risk factors in women include smoking, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and age.

Stephanie McClellan, graduate of the Keck School and private practice gynecologist in Newport Beach, spoke about findings related to research done for the book So Stressed: The Ultimate Stress Relief Plan for Women, which she co-authored. She emphasized the numerous negative effects stress can have on the body and advocated for women to learn more about the ways they handle stress in order to deal with it in more constructive ways.

If we can affect the stress pathway, we can change health in a profound way, said McClellan. The absence of stress is not joy, it is vitality.

The conference opened with a talk by Elizabeth Sample, USC alumna and daughter of USC President Steven B. Sample and his wife, Kathryn.

Other highlights included a power panel of prominent businesswomen hosted by KCAL-9 anchor and USC alumna Sylvia Lopez and a keynote speech by Gloria Burgess, USC alumna, author and founder of Jazz, Inc., an executive coaching and consulting firm.