Pat Camillo Ph.D,RNC,APRN,BC

I've been a nurse since 1974 and have done just about everything a person can do in this profession. When I was teaching in Schools of Nursing, I told my students that I started climbing the career ladder in a hospital kitchen, serving food to employees. Soon after that experience, I attended an associate degree program in nursing and became a registered nurse. During the subsequent years I finished my bachelors, master and doctoral degrees. Along the way I also stopped and received certification as a women's health and gerontology nurse practitioner. I've worked in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and private homes.

In addition to all this professional experience, I've had my share of personal health problems. When I was 24 years old, I was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis that resulted in many surgeries and various treatments. After being told by several physicians that I would never have children, I learned I was pregnant when I was 30 years old, just two days before I was scheduled to have my uterus and both ovaries removed. Things were a little more complicated during the pregnancy because I was a DES child as well as being single and in graduate school! Today, my daughter is 23 years old and a miracle in my life. However, the endometriosis returned just two years after she was born and I eventually had my reproductive organs removed in 1994. This threw me into menopause and I began to experience in just one day, what usually occurs over several years.

I experimented a great deal with various hormones. I've tried every combination as well as most "natural" alternatives. Along the way my breasts were responding to the many hormone changes. After 5 biopsies and at least 10 aspirations, I became convinced that there was something seriously wrong in my right breast. However, all of my tests were negative - even an MRI! I convinced my internist, surgeon and insurance company that I would be better off removing both breasts. The day after this surgery, in 1995, my surgeon called and said "I don't know how you knew... you had atypical hyperplasia in both the lobules and the ducts of the right breast!" Although it is not cancer, it was close enough and it is possible that my actions saved my life. A good friend of mine was not so lucky. She had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and died in 1997. She was 46 years old.

Since 2000, I have developed yet another common women's health problem. It began with a sore hip. I became so debilitated, I needed to use a cane in order to walk. I went to see several expert rheumatologists and all of them told me the same thing: I had severe osteoarthritis in my left hip and I would probably need a hip replacement. However, once again my intuitive sense regarding my health told me something different. I felt as though my body was under attack and in fact, my ANA titers were very high. This is a blood test that is often used to screen for autoimmune diseases, largely a women's health problem. To make a long story short, 2 years later I was told that I had a form of inflammatory arthritis. This made more sense to me. HOWEVER, the treatment I was offered had the potential of causing more problems than cure. So I opted to focus on a rigorous physical therapy program along with some dietary changes and yoga. Today I can walk several miles without a cane! As long as I am faithful to this regimen, I can stay free of all medications and feel great. I also have to be careful that I am not overexposed to estrogen like substances, since I learned from my experience, that my symptoms were worse if my "inner estrogen" was too high.

I've shared all of this with you, as part of my bio, because these experiences in my life have taught me valuable lessons about health, illness and healing. They are not the kind of lessons you usually learn in classrooms and laboratories. And yet, it is so important that they be shared and incorporated into the educational process for all health professionals. I have created the ALLWISE web site to begin this important educational process.

Currently I am Director of the Women's Health Graduate Program at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. I also have a private consulting practice in New York City..