We are VERY excited to read the below article by high-profile Professor Kerryn Phelps in the latest issue of Women’s Weekly. It’s not perfect (not all patientsexperience bullseye rashes, for example, and we haven’t heard of false positives being “common”), but it’s a big win for our community to have the following statements published in mainstream media:
“the Medical Board is interrogating and disciplining doctors who claim they are identifying cases and helping patients to recover”
“In extreme cases, it can cause death”
“Several…doctors…were happy to give information, but asked not to be named. They gave two reasons for this…they are aware that doctors treating suspected Lyme disease are being targeted by the disciplinary panels and they want to be able to continue to help their patients. The second reason is that their workload is so great…they feel they cannot cope with any more patients”
“Patients have been yelled at, and told they have mental illness, told they have conversation reactions, or, if they are parents, suspected of Munchausen by proxy"
“(It’s) hard to treat – it may take two to five years, and that is what is controversial”
“There is no question that these people are sick”
There’s even a paragraph pointing out that there is reason to question the RCPA’s negative Position Statement about Lyme in Australia.
A HUGE thanks to Prof Phelps, and her interviewees Jennie Burke and Dr Schloeffel, who continue to stick their necks out for our community.
