Sunday, December 28, 2008

Raising Awareness

Hello! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, are still enjoying your Happy Hanukkah, and are looking forward to a Happy New Year!

I have been visiting my parents in the Midwest, where we just hang out, eat too much food, and watch a ton of TV. So far we are gravitating towards medical dramas (House M.D. and Scrubs) and reality TV (Discovery Health). We've been watching all these shows where there are mysterious diseases and it reminds me so much of before I was diagnosed (and being misdiagnosed). Idea! We should write to all these TV shows and tell them about Acromegaly. Wouldn't acromegaly make a good episode of a medical mystery? There are so many potential wrong turns, misleading symptoms, etc, etc. I can see how doctors could easily rule it out because someone didn't immediately show the classic symptoms (hands, feet, face) which take a few years to develop. Having acromegaly discussed on TV will raise awareness of he disease, and hopefully help people get an earlier diagnosis. Early diagnosis is so important!

There are a couple of shows on Discovery Health about gigantism, which is close to acromegaly, but not as obvious. Is there a way to petition a network about what kinds of shows should be aired?