The Power of Patients

I'm in Atlanta this weekend for the Lighthouse Lymphedema Network conference. (Look for updates from the conference on my personal blog.) This is a conference put on by patients, inviting health professionals, manufacturers, patients, families and other interested folks to get together and talk about a condition that is difficult to manage and often painful and embarrassing. Already I've met some terrific people and discovered some new products that may help me manage my own condition. I've also been talking about what we're doing with OrganizedWisdom Health -- making health search on the Internet faster, easier and better. People seem to like the idea!

This conference is an example of what people can do when they are empowered to gather information about their health and actively work to make things better for everyone. It's inspiring -- and it's one of the reasons we include blogs and message boards among our sources for our WisdomCards. (For example, check out our cards on Breast Cancer or Bursitis.) I know that as a patient, I learn best when I hear from both medical authorities and other people who have been through what I'm going through. That's why I'm here, and it should be a good weekend.