PCOS Challenge Hosts PCOS Awareness Symposium in Philadelphia as Part of Major Global Awareness Month Campaign

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- September is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Awareness Month. On Saturday, September 25th, as part of its PCOS Awareness Month educational and support events, PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association will be bringing its major conference back to Philadelphia after five years in other cities. The PCOS Awareness Symposium is the largest event globally for patients and healthcare providers dedicated to PCOS. The event features world-leading PCOS researchers and clinicians as well as celebrity guests. Through the PCOS Awareness Symposium, PCOS Challenge has educated thousands of patients and healthcare providers about PCOS since the symposium was started in Atlanta in 2013.

The 2021 PCOS Awareness Symposium will be held from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm EDT at Convene CityView located at 30 South 17th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This year's symposium will be a hybrid event allowing participants to attend in-person in Philadelphia or remotely via the virtual sessions.

"We are excited to bring the PCOS Awareness Symposium back to Philadelphia and to offer this symposium as a hybrid event so people all over the U.S. and throughout the world can attend," says Sasha Ottey, Executive Director of PCOS Challenge, the largest PCOS patient support and advocacy organization. "PCOS is estimated to affect over 500,000 women in Pennsylvania and hundreds of millions globally. It is the most common endocrine disorder and a leading cause of infertility in women. PCOS can lead to lifelong complications as well as life-threatening diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and endometrial cancer. Despite being one of the most common human disorders, its serious health consequences, and an economic burden of over $8 billion per year, PCOS continues to be one of the most underfunded and neglected areas of health.

"Adolescents and women with PCOS are dealing with severe body image, mental and physical health issues. Many develop risk factors for diabetes before they get their first periods and continue to struggle with PCOS and related complications throughout their lives. PCOS Challenge is talking to far too many people who feel their health and requests for help have been disregarded by healthcare practitioners, research funding agencies, and policymakers alike. 'Do I have to die before my condition is taken seriously?' 'Why do I have to cry blood before I'm heard?' 'How does something as big as PCOS go ignored for so long?' 'At what point does ignoring PCOS become fiscally irresponsible, and wouldn't the economic burden be enough to encourage proper funding and research?' These are the heartbreaking questions that consistently come our way," Ottey says, "and during the PCOS Awareness Symposium, our healthcare partners will address these concerns head on. We are grateful to our sponsors and partners such as Spruce Biosciences, The IVF Center: Fertility Care, CCRM Fertility and others for their leadership supporting PCOS Awareness Month, the PCOS Awarenesss Symposium, and for setting an example for other organizations to help address this neglected area of health."

"Spruce Biosciences is proud to partner with PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association, and to sponsor PCOS Awareness Month," says Richard King, Chief Executive Officer of Spruce Biosciences. "Despite being the most common endocrine abnormality among women of reproductive age, PCOS treatment options today consist only of symptomatic relief and fail to address the underlying disease. This month, we are proud to join the individuals, families, and caregivers impacted by PCOS to advocate for increased awareness, resources, and research to improve treatment and care options, with the ultimate goal of developing a cure for the millions of women and girls suffering from PCOS worldwide."

Other PCOS Awareness Symposium premier sponsors include Theralogix; RMA of Connecticut; The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics; Allara; and HomeLight.

For more information on the PCOS Awareness Symposium, registration, and sponsorship opportunities, visit https://pcoschallenge.org/symposium/philadelphia.

About PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association

Serving over 55,000 members, PCOS Challenge is the largest support and advocacy organization globally for people with PCOS. PCOS Challenge is the sponsoring organization for World PCOS Day and PCOS Awareness Month and offers supporting resources, information and events.

Media Contact:

William R. Patterson

Director of Marketing and Public Relations

PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association

Telephone: 404-855-7244

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SOURCE PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association