12 minute read
Changing Tides
A new study may change views on hormone replacement therapy and its role in women’s health.
Doctors used to routinely prescribe hormone SOONER IS BETTER from menopause, the more the keyhole replacement therapy to women to ease discom- e studies that found hormone therapy disappears,” he says. “You can have all the fort as they approach menopause, for problems lowered the risk of heart attack involved tens keys you want, but if they can’t get into ranging from night sweats to irritability. But in of thousands of women between the ages of the lock and turn it, the cells can’t respond the early 2000s, its use plummeted. 35 and 55. ey started to take the medica- to the estrogen.”
Today, USC medical researcher Howard tion when they rst began to feel uncomHodis is driven by a singular goal: to prove fortable or as they reached menopause. In the bene ts of hormone replacement therapy and undo Researchers the Women’s Health Initiative study, though, the investigators tested the harm he says has been done to women’s saw that women a much older population with an average health over the past 20 years. He runs a on the therapy age of 63. at’s more than a decade after multimillion-dollar, National Institutes had fewer heart women typically reach menopause. of Health-funded study to see how attacks. This led to a new idea: The therapy hormone replace- might protect heart ment therapy a ects women’s thinking and health with less risk of breast cancer if cardiovascular health. women take it before they turn 60.
Hormone replacement therapy con- For hormone therapy to slow down heart tains the female hormone estrogen, restor- disease, a woman’s blood vessels need to be ing some of women’s estrogen levels that clean and healthy, Hodis says. If vessels are decline as they age. Besides ghting hot already diseased—which can happen once ashes, it helps prevent bone loss and frac- women are well beyond menopause—estrotures. Over 20 years, though, large studies gen won’t help much. observing the health of women also noticed Hodis and his colleagues investigated something else: ose on the therapy had this theory in a study that included hundreds fewer heart attacks, the leading killer of of healthy postmenopausal women. eir American women. results—published in the New England
“Hormone replacement therapy is linked Journal of Medicine in 2016—showed to cutting the No. 1 cause of death by about promise. Women who started hormone therhalf for the women who opted to take it,” apy within six years of menopause had less says Hodis, who holds the Harry J. Bauer hardening of their arteries, which translates and Dorothy Bauer Rawlins Professorship in to lower heart attack and stroke risk. But it Cardiology at the Keck School of Medicine didn’t help women in the study who were of USC. already 10 years past menopause. en came the Women’s Health Initiative Researchers are still trying to understand in 2002. is randomized clinical trial made why hormone therapy is more e ective in news when it suggested that participants women closer to menopause, but Hodis who received hormone replacement therapy has a theory. had an increased risk of breast cancer with Estrogen sends signals to cells by no bene ts to their heart health. Doctors interacting with what are called receptors. began shying away from the therapy, as did Imagine that estrogen is a key and a recepmany women. tor is a keyhole. “ e further a woman gets SEARCH FOR TRUTH Hodis is conducting more studies into why hormones might ght brain fog, in ammation and other changes that happen alongside menopause. His newest investigation tests a combination of conjugated estrogen and bazedoxifene, which isn’t a hormone but works like one in the body. Hodis believes it could protect against uterine and possibly breast cancer. Participants in his Advancing Postmenopausal Preventive erapy trial are women aged 40 to 59 within six years of menopause. Half will get the medication, and the other half will receive a placebo. e researchers will follow them for three years and see if the medication reduces artery hardening and cognitive decline. Hodis is hopeful that the results will back up his timing theory and change minds about the bene ts of hormone replacement therapy for heart health. Before the Women’s Health Initiative study in 2002, 25% of U.S. women were on the treatment. Today, it’s only about 4%. at has implications for quality of life and longevity, given that 53% of U.S. women die from cardiovascular disease. Hormone therapy also helps prevent bone loss, which is critical for older women. One in 10 women who break their hip after age 70 die. “Hormone therapy has gotten a bad rap,” Hodis says. “It is important to appreciate that adverse outcomes reported from the Women’s Health Initiative for hormone replacement therapy—breast cancer, blood clotting—are rare events, especially when women start the therapy close to menopause. Without proper context, the misperceptions have far outpaced reality.”
The Impostor Inside
What do you do when your biggest doubter is yourself?
Jacqueline Liu ’03, MS ’11 holds three degrees, is vice president at marketing agency The Pollack Group and teaches classes at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. But she still struggles with “impostor syndrome”—selfdoubt and feelings that her achievements and skills aren’t good enough.
People with this persistent anxiety often feel inadequate and undeserving of their accomplishments. It’s a common issue for today’s university students, especially those in the first generation of their family to go to college. For Liu, the fears surfaced during her first job after graduation: a highly competitive workplace that made her question her credentials. Although she has made great strides in the ensuing years, she confesses that scrolling LinkedIn can still make her feel overwhelmed by her peers’ successes.
To help others grappling with similar feelings, Liu opened up about her experience at a recent USC Annenberg event, “Coffee Connects: Coping with Impostor Syndrome.” Many students and faculty colleagues reached out afterward to share their own stories. She spoke with USC writer Margaret Crable about why this type of anxiety is so prevalent today.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME?
Constant feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, along with downplaying successes and accomplishments. It’s obviously normal to experience these feelings occasionally, but impostor syndrome goes far beyond that. In the extreme, individuals may be paralyzed with debilitating fears and paranoia of being outed as a fraud.
WHAT ARE SOME SIGNS THAT SOMEONE MIGHT BE SUFFERING FROM IMPOSTOR SYNDROME?
Pay attention to how someone talks about themselves. They may be abnormally fatalistic and cynical about their successes, both current and future. When you suggest they’d be the perfect candidate for a job, for example, they’ll lament that they don’t fit every single requirement of the job description. WHY MIGHT COLLEGE STUDENTS EXPERIENCE THIS FEELING?
For USC students, many of whom graduated at the top of their class, it can be jarring to meet so many new people who seem smarter and more accomplished. You start questioning your own success. Now, couple these insecurities with what we see on social media. All of this is exponentially worse for students who haven’t followed the traditional prescribed timeline: starting college after high school and graduating in four years. When you feel out of step with your peers, you feel left out, unworthy and unsuccessful.
HOW CAN STUDENTS COMBAT THE FEELING? HOW CAN FACULTY MEMBERS OR PARENTS OFFER SUPPORT?
Journal and try to notice your thinking patterns. When those feelings of selfdoubt creep in, pause. Then, pay yourself a compliment—literally say it out loud if you want—and remind yourself of everything you’re good at. Therapy has also helped me tremendously.
It’s very important that faculty members and parents acknowledge that impostor syndrome is real and share their own examples if they can. We can’t just give them trite, empty platitudes like “chin up” or “you’ll get over it.” We also need to remind people that social media is a highlight reel and in no way representative of people’s real lives.
Promising Development
A $10 million gift supports USC’s future real estate leaders.
In the complex world of real estate, knowing how to do critical research, analyze market conditions, assess nancial reports and negotiate deals is a must. Wil Smith MRED ’99 uses these skills and more every day as founder and principal of Greenlaw Partners, a real estate rm he established in 2003. He honed his expertise at the USC Price School of Public Policy, where he earned a master’s in real estate development.
Now he is helping the next generation of USC students gain the knowledge that helped him lead his company to more than $5 billion in real estate transactions. Smith’s donation of $10 million creates the USC Price Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development, the school’s rst departmental naming gift. Scholarships funded by the gift will go to undergraduate and graduate students who specialize in real estate. e donation will also ensure new professional development opportunities for students and support faculty research projects, helping the school attract top real estate scholars.
Smith also shares his insights at USC as a frequent guest lecturer and mentor for graduate students. He is a member of the executive committee of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, the USC Price Board of Councilors and the USC Price School Real Estate Advisory Board.
Music Man
A Trojan alum steps up to lead The Spirit of Troy, the marching band that first inspired him.
For years, Jacob Vogel MM ’11 has helped While studying, Vogel took the opportucreate memorable musical arrangements for nity to work as a teaching assistant and the Trojan Marching Band’s performances assistant arranger for the band. When and halftime shows. He also earned his Fox retired, Vogel stepped into his role master’s degree in music from the USC for four years before being appointed as ornton School of Music. But he credits band director in January. his USC journey to his wife, Jessica Vogel ’10,his Vogel plans to focus on developing a MSW ’12. MSW student-centered program that helps all e two met at Chapman University band members have a fun and equitable as undergraduates before she transferred as experience while honoring many of the to USC and joined the Trojan Marching to traditions the band has built over the last Band as an alto saxophone player. Vogel Band 140 years. was creating was an athletic band for Chapman “The Trojan Marching Band is essenUniversity and she encouraged him to reachUniversity tial to the culture of the university,” out to USC for tips on music arrangements.out says Vogel, who also holds an academic Anthony Anthony Fox, at that time the band’s appointment at USC Thornton. “It’s not associate director and arranger, became associate just about performing for events and Vogel’s mentor. Vogel’s supporting our USC student-athletes.
Vogel went on to become the direc- We are the heart and soul of USC, for tor tor of Chapman University’s band before the students and for the greater Trojan being accepted being to graduate school at USC.
Road to Redemption
A former gang member finds hope with the help of USC law students—and by training traumatized dogs.
On the day he was denied release by the parole board, Charles was ready to surrender any hope of a life beyond his cell walls.
Sentenced to life behind bars for a crime committed as a teen, he had already spent two decades in state prison in Lancaster, California. With no future, he felt alone, discouraged and forgotten. at’s when the dog wandered across the prison yard and began gently licking his ear.
“ e dog didn’t judge,” Charles says. “He loved me for who I was.” e canine was a visitor from Paws For Life, a program that seeks second chances for both animals in local shelters and people in prison. e small moment of unconditional love gave Charles hope that his life meant something. It put him on a road of re ection and healing. It also led him to his freedom.
LAWS OF SURVIVAL Charles’ childhood was lled with violence, su ering and abuse. To support three younger siblings, he joined a gang and started selling drugs in South Los Angeles at age 12.
“I was a person who could rationalize taking another person’s life,” he says.
He did take a life. A drug deal gone wrong led to his murder conviction and a life sentence at 17. (USC Trojan Family is using only his rst name for privacy.)
In prison, he spent years fueled by anger and distrust and clung to gangs and violence. But as he grew older, Charles began to question if this was what he wanted for himself. He began to advise young men looking to escape a life of violence. ey looked up to him, but he felt he was “steering them wrong” as long as he kept his gang a liation. “ e day that I walked away from the gang was the rst time that I ever slept peacefully,” Charles says.
One week later, he went to a workshop sponsored by the Post-Conviction Justice Project, or PCJP. e legal clinic run by the USC Gould School of Law works with people serving adult life sentences for crimes they committed as youths. Since 1981, the clinic—led by co-directors Heidi Rummel and Michael Brennan and sta ed by USC law students and supporters—has helped more than 150 people with life sentences gain their freedom and assisted more than 4,000 clients with other legal challenges.
A GLIMMER OF HOPE Anna Faircloth-Feingold, one of the clinic’s supervising attorneys, recalls Charles had a deep desire to change.
“He was in a maximum-security yard, where it was very di cult to do the right thing,” she says. “And Charles had done that, despite the odds and despite his environment. His commitment to rehabilitation and the authentic nature of his change were very clear from the beginning.”
Charles simply remembers the support he felt: “ ey saw in me what I didn’t see in myself.”
PCJP accepted Charles for representation, and law students and professors began to prepare for an intense parole hearing. Until that day, his murder conviction was his only story. PCJP experts helped him show them the rest of his life—his upbringing, healing and humanity. He had to relive traumatic experiences to show the parole board, and himself, that he was worth releasing.
During the hearing, he was honest, remorseful and vulnerable. e decision came back: parole denied.
Returning to the prison yard, Charles felt defeated. His carefully nurtured hope had vanished. en came the gentle licks at his ear. HEALING ALL AROUND Charles felt kinship with the dogs in Paws For Life. Like him, they had fear-based aggression. ey knew neglect and abandonment. ey also craved respect and dared to trust in those who believed they could change.
He became a dog trainer, helping rehabilitate many animals. Each adopted dog gave Charles a sense of pride and reminded him of the power of recovery and forgiveness. It also gave him a new perspective years later, when he was granted another parole hearing.
“It’s God’s plan. If I hadn’t gotten denied the last time, I would have never gotten
