Re: Assuming rather than checking facts

[Guest guest]

I have met on more than one occasion, sat with him at

LRF conferences, and attended the CLL support group he is a

member of (and he is a member equal to the others, not the

leader of the group). is not a retired doctor. He is a

CLL patient who is also a family practice doctor. His

medical training, obviously, gives him a step up over most

of us when it comes to understanding much of the information

and literature about CLL, but he pursues that information as

a patient, looking for the best options for himself and

others. He is very willing to share information he has

found, just as some of the other good researchers involved

with online groups do, or explain technical information in

layman's terms, but very careful to not diagnose or suggest

treatment for anyone who he has not seen as a patient. He

is, as a doctor, active nationally as a speaker about his

areas of interest and expertise. and spends a great deal of

time attending medical conferences and keeping up with

current medical information related to those areas, as well

as CLL. Suggesting that is diagnosing, based on posted

information, or telling people which treatments they should

try puts his medical license at risk. It is dangerous to

assume. There is a reason signs his posts the way he

does and we do not have the right to tell him to do

otherwise. I believe that you will find that Dr. Furman and

Dr. Hamblin, while they are listed as doctors, follow the

same rules about not diagnosing or dictating treatment on

the lists. It would be a shame if the lists lost as a

contributor because he is put in the position of dropping

out to protect his medical license!

Pat K

[Guest guest]

Well said!

None of the doctors on this list or any other are dispensing

advice for individual patients. We are trying to ensure that

any information that is published on the lists is accurate

and not misleading. It is impossible to second guess a

patient's own doctor; we just do not have enough

information. WE can suggest alternative strategies but these

should always be put before a patient's own doctor and we

are not upset if our suggestions are not followed. We are

another internet resource, which we hope is a safeguard

against some of the wilder suggestions that are out there.

Terry Hamblin MD

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Dr. Hamblin, for all your good advice. Do you

know any good CLL doctors in Providence? I travel to Boston

monthly for treatment, which is getting hard at my age. On

the other hand a very nice doctor at Miriam Hospital in

Providence told me to continue in Boston because I also have

Merkel Cell Carcinoma, which not many doctors know about,

including those at Dana Farber as well as in Providence.

Carolyn Swift, age 83, Providence, Ri

[Guest guest]

Carolyn

I am not familiar with the American scene.

Terry Hamblin

[Guest guest]

Pat,

Thanks again to you and others for your kind words.

As everyone knows, I am not a hematologists or oncologist,

but a practicing family doctor who does a lot of teaching of

other docs and who has his own skin in the CLL game. My

practice is limited due my risk of infection from my

patients.

I am no CLL expert, I get things wrong and I am highly

opinionated.

My medical training and experience sometimes allows me to

offer different perspectives and insights than that of a lay

person, though I am constantly being blown away by the

clarity of vision of some of the non-MD CLL savants we are

blessed to have in our midst. would be at the top of

my pyramid.

I learn more from all of you than I could ever teach.

No MD, myself included, can treat a patient by email or

phone, but we can provide information to help guide you with

your attending doctors. That is the only way I can help.

BTW, my next CME lecturing trip (my topics will be sleep

issues and migraines, nothing to do with leukemia) is in

Dearborn Michigan, so if you are in that area, let me know

and we can share a cup of tea and war stories.

So while I love all these comments, let's get back to the

business at hand of helping each other navigate our way

through the CLL maze.

Be strong. We are all in this together. And that's the real

truth.