Budoff, Penny Wise 1939-

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BUDOFF, Penny Wise 1939-

PERSONAL: Born July 7, 1939, in Albany, NY; daughter of Louis and Goldene (Zuckerman) Wise; married Seymour L. Budoff, June 24, 1962; children: Jeffrey Evan, Cynthia Louise. Education: Attended University of Wisconsin—Madison, 1955–57; Syracuse University, B.A., 1959; State University of New York Upstate Medical Center, M.D., 1963. Hobbies and other interests: Flying, piano, cooking, gardening.

ADDRESSES: Home—11 Fairbanks Blvd., Woodbury, NY 11797. Office—Bonne Forme, Vitamins for Women, Inc., 319 Main St., Farmingdale, NY 11735. Agent—Sandra Elkin, 161 W. 15th St., New York, NY 10011.

CAREER: Licensed to practice medicine in New York; certified by American Board of Family Practice, 1973, re-certified, 1980. St. Luke's Hospital, Utica, NY, intern, 1963; private practice of medicine in Amityville, NY, 1964–67; private practice of family medicine in Woodbury, NY, 1967–. Affiliated with staff of Brunswick General Hospital, Amityville, 1964–67, Mid-Island Hospital, Bethpage, NY, 1964–76, Nassau County Medical Center, East Meadow, NY, 1974–, University Hospital, Stony Brook, NY, 1980, and Penny Wise Burdoff Medical Center, 1985–. State University of New York at Stony Brook, assistant professor of clinical family medicine, 1974–75 and 1977–80, assistant professor of family medicine, 1975–77, clinical associate professor of family medicine, 1981–. Medical adviser on health services to Nassau County Head Start Program, 1978–. Aviation medical examiner, 1978–. Speaker on women's health at universities, colleges, and before professional and private groups; frequent guest on radio and television talk shows.

MEMBER: American Medical Association, American Medical Women's Association (delegate to Medical Women's International Association conferences, 1976 and 1978), American Academy of Family Physicians (fellow), American Cancer Society (member of board of governors, 1978–; member of Professional Education Committee, 1978–), Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (fellow), New York State Medical Society, New York State Academy of Family Physicians (director, 1979–), Nassau Academy of Medicine (fellow), Nassau Academy of Family Physicians (secretary, 1975–76; delegate to New York State legislative sessions, 1976–78; vice-president, 1976–77; president, 1977–78), Flying Physician's Association, Alpha Epsilon Iota (president, 1962).

AWARDS, HONORS: Recognition awards from American Medical Association, 1972, 1976, and 1978; named woman of the year by C. W. Post College, 1981.

WRITINGS:

No More Menstrual Cramps and Other Good News, Putnam (New York, NY), 1980.

No More Hot Flashes and Other Good News, Putnam (New York, NY), 1983, revised edition published as No More Hot Flashes and Even More Good News, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Contributor to books, including Women in Industry, edited by Pasquale A. Carone, South Oakes Foundation, 1977; and Advances in Prostaglandin and Thromboxane Research, Volume 2, Bengt Samuelsson, Peter Ramwell, and Rodolfo Paoletti, editors, Raven Press, 1980. Contributor to medical journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Reproductive Medicine, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sexual Medicine Today, and Female Patient.

SIDELIGHTS: In her books and her medical practice, Penny Wise Budoff has dedicated herself to researching women's health concerns, and particularly the specific ways that women can benefit from various vitamin supplements. Beginning in 1982, Budoff began to formulate her own supplements for certain stages and conditions of women's lives. One of her primary concerns has been premenstrual syndrome, menstrual pain, and problems associated with menopause. Since 1985, she has been associated with a multi-speciality women's health-care center, the Penny Wise Budoff Medical Center, and her Bonne Forme line of healthcare supplements has grown to include skin care and cosmetic items as well.

Budoff's book No More Menstrual Cramps and Other Good News offers new theories on the source of menstrual pain, dispelling the myth that menstrual cramps are psychological in origin and offering effective methods of treatment. The book also discusses contraception, breast cancer, premenstrual syndrome, hysterectomies, and physical hygiene. In No More Hot Flashes and Even More Good News, Budoff "presents discouraging as well as encouraging information" about women's health issues, according to Booklist reviewer William Beatty. She and those who contributed to the book are honest when discussing problems that are little-understood, pointing out the need for further research and data. Their focus is on the physical and psychological challenges faced by women in the menopausal years and after. They discuss drug and hormone therapies as well as other related matters in this "thorough and practical book," stated Beatty.

Budoff first recognized the importance of addressing the issue of menstrual pain when she was invited to speak at a symposium for Women in Industry in April of 1976. In an interview with Didi Moore of Us magazine, Budoff explained: "There's a tremendous loss of employment time by women who are out of work with cramps, whether they admit that's what it is or not. It's one reason women haven't gotten a fair deal in labor relations—men don't think women are fit because either they're out sick or they're not working to capacity. The way everyone has dealt with it is to ignore the problem. I decided then and there that if nobody cared, I did." A study published by Budoff in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1979 and in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1982 reinforced the author's contention that menstrual cramps are primarily physiological in origin.

Budoff told CA: "As a woman, physician, and researcher, I have been attempting to educate women about their own health in hopes that they might improve it. My research on menstrual pain, premenstrual tension, and estrogen-replacement therapy has given me a firm base on which to write. Dealing with the male medical establishment can only be accomplished when women become medically educated enough to know what the questions are that need to be asked, and when to say no to unnecessary surgery and drugs."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 1998, William Beatty, review of No More Hot Flashes and Even More Good News, p. 1945.

Chicago Tribune, September 16, 1979.

CoEvolution Quarterly, Ruth Williamson, review of No More Menstrual Cramps and Other Good News, p. 85.

Health, December, 1986, Joanna Torrey, "Pretty Medicine: This Women's Medical Center Gives Health Care a Face Lift," p. 61.

Library Journal, December 1, 1980, Jacalyn Cogholin-Strom, review of No More Menstrual Cramps and Other Good News, p. 2508; July, 1983, review of No More Hot Flashes and Other Good News, p. 1372.

Mademoiselle, October, 1981.

Ms, October, 1980.

Newsweek, July 9, 1979.

New York Times, March 7, 1982; September 16, 1982.

Publishers Weekly, July 22, 1983, review of No More Hot Flashes and Other Good News, p. 125.

Science Digest, September, 1980, Ruth Winter, "Prostaglandins Are Identified as a Menstruation Villain," p. 54.

Seventeen, January, 1980, Diana Shaw, "Period of Adjustment," p. 47.

Time, July 27, 1981.

Us, August, 1979, Didi Moore, interview with Budoff.