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Seminar on women's health issues to be held by Louise Pecevich, PA-C Family Medicine Center WomanKind, MUSC Family Medicine Center's holistic health resource for women, will present an encore seminar on women's health issues from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 23 at the MUSC Harper Student Wellness Center Auditorium.    The featured guest speaker will be Shirley Worth Bodie, R.N., whose practice, Holistic Breast and Lymphatic Care, is located with “To Your Health,” a Charleston-based group of practitioners who specialize in alternative healing techniques.    Bodie has 30 years' experience as a nurse, teacher, counselor and bodyworker. She is a master's prepared mental health nurse and massage therapist, certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, Manual Lymph Drainage and Complete Decongestive Therapy. She also offers consultation services and classes on Breast Health Awareness, as well as guidance and mind-body-spirit integration for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.   Her work as a holistic healer reflects a marriage of western allopathic medicine and complementary healing techniques. Traditional training in nursing provides a solid, scientific knowledge base, which when combined with the study of non-traditional therapies brings a comprehensive perspective to the concept of healing.   Therapeutic massage can help relieve muscle tension and stiffness, reduce stress and aid relaxation, improve circulation and breathing, and strengthen the immune system. Medical massage for women undergoing surgery for breast cancer, in the early post-operative period, helps to restore range of motion to the affected arm, promote proper scar healing, and encourage adequate lymph drainage to prevent lymphedema, a chronic condition caused by surgical removal of lymph nodes during breast cancer treatment.   Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) is a hands-on technique utilizing light touch designed to activate and cleanse the lymphatic system.  The lymphatic system is critical to the body’s ability to detoxify and regenerate tissues, filter out toxins and foreign substances, recover critical nutrients that have escaped from the blood, and maintain a healthy immune system. MLD stimulates the flow of lymph fluid to enhance all these actions and functions.   Bodie's practice is influenced heavily by her personal experience of healing and integrating the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of three episodes of breast cancer. As a breast cancer survivor, she sees herself as a spiritual midwife for those who view their challenges as an opportunity for transformation.   During the last several years studies have confirmed the anecdotal evidence that a large percentage of the population has sought out or utilized complementary medical modalities and approaches. As the population becomes more educated, and in some instances dissatisfied with the choices presented to them, the integration of alternative or complementary treatment with traditional or allopathic medicine has become accepted as part of mainstream health care.  The concept of Mind-Body-Spirit interconnection and its effect on wellness is accepted by individuals and researchers on a growing basis.   Many women have found it difficult to find an environment that encourages participation in their own health care. By exploring traditional and complementary avenues to treatment, women are attempting to personalize the path to wellness and to seek acknowledgment of their individual needs.    WomanKind at MUSC Family Medicine Center was introduced in response to the growing need for integrative, individualized women’s health care. It is a center and resource for women, offering individually designed treatment plans targeted to woman’s needs and concerns, medical and family history, health/risk status, and emotional and spiritual well-being, utilizing pharmacologic, herbal, nutritional and lifestyle management, as well as counseling and referral for alternative modalities of treatment.   Free parking is available in the garage and parking lot. Because space is limited, participants should call MUSC Health Connection at 792-1414 to register for the seminar.