EvansMediaUSA

Palm Springs resident Suzanne Somers returned from a controversial book tour Friday to be hailed as trail-blazing hero by cuttin-edge members of the medical community meeting at the Westin Mission Hills Resort in Rancho Mirage.

Somers, who turned 60 last month, has been hyping her book, "Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones," which this week hit No. 1 on the New York Times Hardcover Advice best-seller list.

But critics, especially in the pharmaceutical-supported medical community, have criticized her claim that, "The second half of your life can be better than your first half."

She told a conference of the American College for Advancement in Medicine she's a layman bringing the message of forward-thinking physicians to the public, and she said pharmaceuticals have a place in modern medicine, notably in pain relief.

But she said she's happy to deflect criticism from physicians, such as members of ACAM who are seeking alternatives to pharmaceutical treatments.

ACAM, which has attracted more that 400 medical practitioners from as far away as Denmark and Japan to its five-day conference here through Sunday, is trying to raise $2 million for a Food and Drug Administration-approved one-year test of bioidentical hormone therapy, which replaces lost hormones causing symptoms associated with aging - such as sleep loss and diminished sex drive - with plant extracts containing the same molecular structures as the lost human hormones.

"This is the changing face of medicine," the sleek and darkly attired Somers told an outdoor lunch crowd. "It needs to be done and you are going to get flak. And maybe having me in front will deflect some of that."

Somers has some detractors in the medical community, OB/GYN Michele Curtis of the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center has said her biggest concern about bioidentical hormone therapy is "lack of standardization and quality control."

Somers interviewed 16 doctors and people who have "taken charge of their own health," including Rancho Mirage resident Wendy Fitzgerald. Many, including Fitzgerald, attended the luncheon.

Dr. Michael Galitzer of Los Angeles, who wrote the foreword for Somers' book, said he expected criticism of Somers book from the pharmaceutical-supported medical community because bioidentical hormones can't be patented.

A patent requires a change in the natural chemical structure, and that's what bioidentical hormones seek to avoid.

"When you alter a drug, you're changing the molecules to a structure that's foreign to the body," said Galitzer. "That's the real key."

Somers said she feels a great responsibility leading her fans to new approaches in medicine, especially the 80 million people she speaks to over 25 hours each month on the Home Shopping Network.

"I am thrilled I can be the person out there," she said, "and to use my celebrity for our greater good."

WHAT THEY SAID:

Dr. Hans Gruenn of Los Angeles: "I think she was excellent. She is a good voice for everybody. She embodies the spirit (of advancement in medicine). And I think a little Hollywood is good for everybody."

Dr. Michael Galitzer: "I think (the criticism of Somers) comes from doctors who are a little bit envious. I think she wrote a better medical book than they did."

Heidi Osterman, certified nutritionist and chelation therapy technician from British Columbia: "She is the missing link between lay people and professionals. So far, the only information they get are from the pharmaceutical doctors and they are only trained in drugs and surgery. So, if a disease isn't amenable to drugs and surgery, those are still the only two options available to them.""You can't go back to being 20, (but) all of her information is perfectly accurate. I think she's brilliant."

Dr. Kenneth Bock, Rhinebeck, N.Y., president of the American College for Advancement in Medicine: "Whenever there's a proposed change you are parading you always expect flak. (But) bioidentical hormones make total sense. Now we need to decide the ways to doing that. That's what we want to study."