May is Osteoporosis Awareness Month. During the month, the Creighton University Osteoporosis Research Center will offer two potentially life-altering opportunities to help women (and men) take charge of their own bone health.

This debilitating disease strikes one in two American women over the age of 50. In fact, osteoporotic fractures occur in 1.5 million American women annually, more than the combined incidence of breast cancer, heart attack and stroke. Furthermore, 25 percent of women who suffer a hip fractures die within one year of the fracture. And osteoporosis is not strictly a woman's disease; some men suffer from it too.

Robert Recker, M.D., director of the Creighton Osteoporosis Research Center and a world-renowned expert on the subject, will speak on the roles of calcium and vitamin D in osteoporosis prevention at two public presentations.

The talks will be held on Saturday, May 14, at 10 a.m. at Creighton University Medical Center's Becic Dining Room and Wednesday, May 25, at 6 p.m. at Harper Center's Billy Blue's Alumni Grill on the Creighton campus. Registration is not required.

Anyone attending one of these lectures and meeting eligibility requirements may sign up for a complimentary bone-density screening (a $340 value) for a later date. To be eligible, a person must be at least 19 years old, have not had a bone-density scan at the ORC within the past two years, and weigh less than 300 pounds.

Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by a loss of bone mass and bone strength, which can cause bones to fracture more easily. A bone-density scan is the only valid screening tool to diagnose osteoporosis before a bone fracture occurs.

If you do have osteoporosis, the good news is there are many treatment options to help manage the disease and even improve bone health.

Source: Creighton University