Risk after SNB/ Lillie Shockney gets it wrong

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  • faithandfifty
    faithandfifty Member Posts: 10,007
    edited October 2010

    I was so hopeful seeing that this thread was bumped.

    Thought it was to announce the new & updated info.

    Not so much.

    Frown

  • kira66715
    kira66715 Member Posts: 4,681
    edited August 2013

    Not to be totally obnoxious here, but with Dr. Weiss experiencing breast cancer first hand, I'd assume she'd want the information on this site to be up to date and accurate for all the women who desperately need a reliable source of information while facing tough decisions.

    Obviously lymphedema information is low priority for bc.org--not to be nasty, but actions speak louder than words here, and inaction is an indication of how little lymphedema matters to to people who run this site.

    Kira.

    I pm'ed the moderators. I think we all have to, or they'll continue to ignore us.

  • missrwe
    missrwe Member Posts: 58
    edited October 2010
  • missrwe
    missrwe Member Posts: 58
    edited October 2011

    Bump again. Anything new in the past year? Any apologies? Any clarifications? Anything?

  • kira66715
    kira66715 Member Posts: 4,681
    edited October 2011

    Binney follows her on-line, she thinks things got better, but I have a vague memory of a recent error in the answer.

    Hope Binney comes along soon

    Kira

  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited October 2011

    Missrwe, we do follow her website, and it's clear somebody else is now writing the Lymphedema answers, thankfully. For the most part the answers are accurate, though they still err on the side of giving too little information to actually be helpful. The apparant purpose of the Johns Hopkins/Avon "Ask An Expert" site is to steer patients to Johns Hopkins. It's not a site to refer anyone to for real answers to lymphedema questions, though they do now at least get the name of the National Lymphedema Network's website right when referring patients elsewhere for more information.

    But -- apology? No way!Laughing

    I have no idea if our little rebellion here had the effect of finally forcing them to clean up their act, but the timing of the changes suggests that might have had something to do with it.Cool Guess we'll never know for sure!

    So, a bit of celebration is called for -- somebody pass the brownies!Kiss

    High fives!
    Binney

  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited October 2011

    Binney,

    You hit the nail on the head.  I checked out that site on somebody's recommendation shortly after I was diagnosed, and that was definitely my impression.  Here you go, here's the phone number to call to come in.  I realize you can't diagnose or treat people over the internet, but they've set up the site as "Ask the Expert!"

    I also find it interesting the discordance between many of the answers, which often reference whether there is a clinical trial, and the answers described earlier in this thread which reference Johns Hopkins experience.  If you're going to answer some questions completely neglecting the fact that much of medicine as it's practiced today hasn't been arrived at by high-quality cinical trial, then I think it's really hypocritical to answer some questions based on the perceived experience of your own center. 

    I don't want to spend a lot of time trashing that site.  I'm not that mean-spirited and it didn't hurt me personally in any way.   But I think it's really wrong.  I think if you're going to the internet for answers, you need to verify the credibility of your sources.  I see people call each other out on this site all the time.  But I also have not every seen anyone here given the title of "expert" by the site.  I see a lot of smart women posting, and when questioned, the ones speaking from a well-thought place can back it up.

  • kira66715
    kira66715 Member Posts: 4,681
    edited October 2011

    Outfield, I totally agree with you--I believe that one of the rules of the site is not to give medical advice (and we kind of skirt that rule when we advise people to go get their potential cellulitis checked out....)

    When we created stepupspeakout--I asked the others if we could try for HON certification, it's a review of the site to see if you're providing reliable medical information, and we got it. And that was important to all of us.

    Once, when I got into a bit of an email thing with the PT who declared that LE is never painful, in response to the Washington Post article where two of us were quoted, she wrote and said "I AM an expert." Well, I am an expert because I have LE, and you just study it and fight to discredit LE training for PT's, as you feel any PT can treat LE. That said, the PT in question (member of the APTA board) has published a lot of good research. 

    I have a former neighbor who moved to West Palm Beach, and she's a concierge for Hopkins. While Mayo has set up satellites to capture the wealthy retiree market, Hopkins has my former neighbor arrange transportation, accommodations, etc. 

    There are patient oriented sites, and there are marketing sites, and the Hopkins site is a marketing site, masquerading as patient education--misleading and unethical, IMO

    And, bc.org has never gotten around to updating their LE pages--way too busy pushing organic food.....

    Kira

  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited October 2011

    KIRA...I recently PM the moderators to update their information regarding rare IDCs, AND to also make it easier to find......This was the second time I requested it.  Honestly, I don't think it is that hard to annually update the information...especially when the new NCCN guidelines are released.  Ditto for lymphadema.  Honestly, they should have a whole section devoted to lymphadema and shoulder issues following surgery...since so many of us have to deal with those symptoms long after the breast cancer surgery and treatment are over.....

    BTW....How are you doing?  Following my shoulder surgery in April, I've had a great recovery and continue to do my exercises.  My shoulders are weak and I realize I have a way to go, but I feel so much better......

  • kira66715
    kira66715 Member Posts: 4,681
    edited October 2011

    Voraciousreader: Glad to hear to you're doing well after the shoulder surgery (and THANK you for all the great book recommendations)

    It's been a year since my hand fracture--almost--and my LE seems stable, I did have a frozen shoulder and it responded to PT: myofascial release and exercises.

    The PT place I go to recently bought Julie Silver's Oncology Rehab program (it makes me NUTS that she sells it!) and I'm glad they're approaching all the issues we're left with, but again, Julie Silver, markets her books and sells her rehab program, and sees the occasional patient to call herself a clinician...She came on these boards once and was incredibly dismissive of us. She's a Harvard physician, who had bc.

    I think the women on these boards could write the LE pages easily. 

    Agree completely with the need to address long term shoulder disfunction, post mastectomy pain syndrome and LE.

    Not just organic food.

    Kira

  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited October 2011

    KIRA-  Thanks for your help too!Kiss

    Let us know how you like the books on the Book Lovers thread and thanks for your recommendations too!

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