Health Screenings for Asian-Indian Women is Focus of Free Seminar

USA (SANEPR.com) June 9, 2009 -- Due to cultural barriers, including a belief in the traditional Indian system of medicine that mixes religion with secular medicine and incorporates the observation of the patient as well as his or her natural environment, women of Asian-Indian descent living in the U.S. have significant low rates of screening for life-threatening diseases such as breast cancer to diabetes to cardiovascular disease.

To promote preventive care and resolve the cultural barriers limiting use of preventive health screenings among Asian-Indian women, South Nassau Communities Hospital will hold a free seminar, Women’s Health: The Importance of Screenings, Sunday, June 14 from
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in its Conference Center.

The seminar will be presented by renowned surgical
oncologist Rajiv Datta, MD, medical director of the Cancer Program and chairman of the Department of Surgery at South Nassau, who was recently named to the 2009 Guide to Top Doctors: New York Metro Area.

Sponsored by the Queens and Long Island Chapter of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and the India Association of Long Island, the seminar is open to the general public but targets Asian Indian women.

“Asian-Indian women have higher rates of breast cancer after they immigrate to the United States, are at high risk for osteoporosis due to differences in bone mass and density, and they have the highest rate of gestational diabetes in the U.S.,” said Dr. Datta. “Every woman of Indian descent should attend this seminar.”

For more information or to register, call (516) 377-5333.