Re: Attended the 3rd Annual Day-Long Conference on Arthritis Today

[Guest guest]

Dear ...sounds like a great conference! I'm glad you got to go.

Thank you for sharing so much with all of us. You are a very special

lady, and I appreciate you more than I can say.

God bless you.

Hugs of Hope, Always...

Tess

[Guest guest]

i was thinking of attending one of these conferences, but didn't think i'd

sit too well. were there alot of patients there or medical? kathy in il

[Guest guest]

hmmmm was thinking about how you know these are coming up and all.. we are in

chicago and keep track of most convetions but never see anything like this..

karen

[Guest guest]

,

LOL on the orange drink and koolaid! Orange drink, maybe... kookaid,

bleeesch....

>Subject: [ ] Attended the 3rd Annual Day-Long >Conference on

Arthritis Today

> they handed me my styrofoam box

> breakfast and I peeked inside, I thought I was going to have to write

> Suzanne about Kool-Aid and orange drink again, but, no, it was

> 100% juice.

The main drawback to living in the back of beyond (panhandle of FL) is no

close access to informational conferences like the one you went to. Driving

to Atlanta seems very daunting, although similar events are probably

available there.

Thanks for the info. Glad to know this list is on the cutting edge!!

Suzanne

[Guest guest]

,

This conferance sounds like it was very informative. It was so sweet of you to

try to get answers for group members. It is also very uplifting to know that

there is so much going on in the research department and that someone actually

cares. I never doubted that there are many researchers working on the various

types of arthritis, but when we read all the negative publicity of things that

go on behind the scenes it's easy to loose faith.

It's good to know that the conference practiced what it preached by serving

water and decent food to eat!!!!

Thank you for relaying everything.

hugs,

a

> Well, friends, I attended the 3rd Annual Greater Chicago Chapter

> Day-Long Conference on Arthritis hosted by the Arthritis Foundation at

> the Hilton Lisle Hotel in Lisle, IL today. I'm very tired! The event was

> scheduled to be from 8:30 AM - 3:15 PM, but my last session lasted past

> 3:30.

>

> For $10, breakfast and lunch were served, and, as a would have

> wished, there were glass goblets and stainless steel pitchers of ice

> water in each conference room and at every table for meals. When I got

> my hand stamped as proof of registration (guess they don't want just

> anyone crashing the lectures) and they handed me my styrofoam box

> breakfast and I peeked inside, I thought I was going to have to write

> Suzanne about Kool-Aid and orange drink again, but, no, it was 100%

> juice. There was also a nice banana, muffin, and croissant. Unlimited

> tea and coffee, too. Lunch was fancier and served at the table, but I

> missed it due to the fact that I couldn't stop blabbing with several

> representatives of sponsors of the event.

>

> The keynote address was given by Dr. Calvin R. Brown from

> Rush-Presbyterian-St.Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. His speech was

> entitled, " Arthritis Treatment 2002: From Cause to Cure. " When he

> mentioned early in his talk that his sister was diagnosed with JRA at

> sixteen, I knew I could trust him.

>

> In addition to Dr. Brown's speech, which, to tell you the truth,

> although hope-filled, positive, and good, didn't reveal much more than

> we've already discussed here, I was able to choose three other lecture

> sessions out of many others offered concurrently.

>

> I attended " Are There Any Tests that are Characteristic of Lupus? " by

> Zuzga, DO, FACOI, FACR, " Treating Arthritis in 2K2 " by Pat

> Mac, RN, NP, and " Surgical Options for Hip and Knee Replacements "

> by Senall, MD.

>

> This was a lot of fun and very well-organized. I learned a few things

> and talked to several interesting people.

>

> At the end of his lupus presentation, Dr. Zuzga mentioned that he does

> not recommend Enbrel (etanercept), Remicade (infliximab), or Kineret

> (anakinra) for any lupus patient. In the next session, I asked Pat

> Mac what her opinion on the use of anti-TNF therapies in lupus

> was, and she also gave the idea a thumbs down (I didn't ask about

> Kineret). She does arthritis research at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's

> and has written articles and abstracts on results from clinical trials,

> among other things. I asked her about Remicade and Enbrel in

> scleroderma, too. She was involved in two small studies - one of lupus

> patients and another of scleroderma patients who were treated with an

> anti-TNF therapy. Not one patient in the lupus study improved. The

> scleroderma patients did very, very well. I'm not sure where that leaves

> you, Kathi, but I had you in mind when I asked.

>

> In the talk about hip and knee replacements, an artificial knee was

> passed around. Very cool. Of course, I was thinking of Debs when I was

> tinkering with it hoping that she and her knee were doing much better.

> The orthopedic physician speaking reminded me so much of Ari Fleischer

> that I was distracted. He really even sounded like him. I think I watch

> too much CNN. Now I'm going to be thinking of knees and hips when I see

> future White House press briefings.

>

> It was a good day. I left feeling as though there really are smart,

> dedicated people out there desperately trying to find better answers and

> more effective treatment for the nearly 1 in 6 people in the United

> States who are suffering from arthritis or an allied condition, for all

> of us here.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

, I joined the Arthritis Foundation a few years ago. I can't

remember if that's how I'm getting the Chicago Chapter newsletters, but

I think it is. The newsletter is where I learned of the all-day

conference. This was the first event held in the suburbs. Since I live

only one suburb over from Lisle, it was really convenient for me.

Arthritis Foundation, Greater Chicago Chapter

303 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 300

Chicago, IL 60601

(312) 616-3470

info.gc@...

Arthritis Foundation:

http://www.arthritis.org/

You can find out Chicago Chapter information here, too. This is where I

actually registered for the event. When they ask you to type in a zip

code, just type in 60601 and you can see all of the Chicago Chapter

programs, events, services, etc.

Re: [ ] Attended the 3rd Annual Day-Long Conference on

Arthritis Today

> hmmmm was thinking about how you know these are coming up and all.. we

are in

> chicago and keep track of most convetions but never see anything like

this..

>

> karen

[Guest guest]

Kathy, this conference was designed for arthritis sufferers or anyone

with an interest in arthritis and associated conditions.

The seating was pretty comfortable considering. Nice, firm, high-backed,

padded chairs. It wouldn't be easy to sit for long if you have problems

sitting, but there is no reason you couldn't get up and leave a session

if you had to walk or stretch. Or if you chose to take a break and relax

on one of the hotel couches, that would be OK. Nice bathrooms, too.

Well, it's the Hilton. A fine place for a conference.

I saw all kinds of people - many races, people middle-aged and up, and

people with various levels of disability. Casual clothes, dressy

clothes. White, female seniors were definitely the majority though. I

think I almost got a date with a 70-year-old man. You can imagine the

pickup lines: " So, what sort of arthritis do you have? "

If you're interested, next time I'm thinking of going to something like

this, I'll let you know!

Re: [ ] Attended the 3rd Annual Day-Long Conference on

Arthritis Today

> i was thinking of attending one of these conferences, but didn't think

i'd

> sit too well. were there alot of patients there or medical? kathy in

il

[Guest guest]

,

Did they give you a list of conferences like this in other states? I'm

in Pa., and would love to go to something like this.

Lynn (MeMom)

wrote:

> Kathy, this conference was designed for arthritis sufferers or anyone

> with an interest in arthritis and associated conditions.

>

> The seating was pretty comfortable considering. Nice, firm, high-backed,

> padded chairs. It wouldn't be easy to sit for long if you have problems

> sitting, but there is no reason you couldn't get up and leave a session

> if you had to walk or stretch. Or if you chose to take a break and relax

> on one of the hotel couches, that would be OK. Nice bathrooms, too.

> Well, it's the Hilton. A fine place for a conference.

>

> I saw all kinds of people - many races, people middle-aged and up, and

> people with various levels of disability. Casual clothes, dressy

> clothes. White, female seniors were definitely the majority though. I

> think I almost got a date with a 70-year-old man. You can imagine the

> pickup lines: " So, what sort of arthritis do you have? "

>

> If you're interested, next time I'm thinking of going to something like

> this, I'll let you know!

>

>

>

> Re: [ ] Attended the 3rd Annual Day-Long Conference on

> Arthritis Today

>

> > i was thinking of attending one of these conferences, but didn't think

> i'd

> > sit too well. were there alot of patients there or medical? kathy in

> il

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

: Sounds like you had an interesting and

informative day....and a day out?......got a giggle

from your description of the pick-up...apparently you

still have the stuff..LOL...thanks for thinking of

me...Kathi in OK

--- <Matsumura_Clan@...> wrote:

> Well, friends, I attended the 3rd Annual Greater

> Chicago Chapter

> Day-Long Conference on Arthritis hosted by the

> Arthritis Foundation at

> the Hilton Lisle Hotel in Lisle, IL today. I'm very

> tired! The event was

> scheduled to be from 8:30 AM - 3:15 PM, but my last

> session lasted past

> 3:30.

>

> For $10, breakfast and lunch were served, and, as

> a would have

> wished, there were glass goblets and stainless steel

> pitchers of ice

> water in each conference room and at every table for

> meals. When I got

> my hand stamped as proof of registration (guess they

> don't want just

> anyone crashing the lectures) and they handed me my

> styrofoam box

> breakfast and I peeked inside, I thought I was going

> to have to write

> Suzanne about Kool-Aid and orange drink again, but,

> no, it was 100%

> juice. There was also a nice banana, muffin, and

> croissant. Unlimited

> tea and coffee, too. Lunch was fancier and served at

> the table, but I

> missed it due to the fact that I couldn't stop

> blabbing with several

> representatives of sponsors of the event.

>

> The keynote address was given by Dr. Calvin R. Brown

> from

> Rush-Presbyterian-St.Luke's Medical Center in

> Chicago. His speech was

> entitled, " Arthritis Treatment 2002: From Cause to

> Cure. " When he

> mentioned early in his talk that his sister was

> diagnosed with JRA at

> sixteen, I knew I could trust him.

>

> In addition to Dr. Brown's speech, which, to tell

> you the truth,

> although hope-filled, positive, and good, didn't

> reveal much more than

> we've already discussed here, I was able to choose

> three other lecture

> sessions out of many others offered concurrently.

>

> I attended " Are There Any Tests that are

> Characteristic of Lupus? " by

> Zuzga, DO, FACOI, FACR, " Treating Arthritis in

> 2K2 " by Pat

> Mac, RN, NP, and " Surgical Options for Hip and

> Knee Replacements "

> by Senall, MD.

>

> This was a lot of fun and very well-organized. I

> learned a few things

> and talked to several interesting people.

>

> At the end of his lupus presentation, Dr. Zuzga

> mentioned that he does

> not recommend Enbrel (etanercept), Remicade

> (infliximab), or Kineret

> (anakinra) for any lupus patient. In the next

> session, I asked Pat

> Mac what her opinion on the use of anti-TNF

> therapies in lupus

> was, and she also gave the idea a thumbs down (I

> didn't ask about

> Kineret). She does arthritis research at

> Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's

> and has written articles and abstracts on results

> from clinical trials,

> among other things. I asked her about Remicade and

> Enbrel in

> scleroderma, too. She was involved in two small

> studies - one of lupus

> patients and another of scleroderma patients who

> were treated with an

> anti-TNF therapy. Not one patient in the lupus study

> improved. The

> scleroderma patients did very, very well. I'm not

> sure where that leaves

> you, Kathi, but I had you in mind when I asked.

>

> In the talk about hip and knee replacements, an

> artificial knee was

> passed around. Very cool. Of course, I was thinking

> of Debs when I was

> tinkering with it hoping that she and her knee were

> doing much better.

> The orthopedic physician speaking reminded me so

> much of Ari Fleischer

> that I was distracted. He really even sounded like

> him. I think I watch

> too much CNN. Now I'm going to be thinking of knees

> and hips when I see

> future White House press briefings.

>

> It was a good day. I left feeling as though there

> really are smart,

> dedicated people out there desperately trying to

> find better answers and

> more effective treatment for the nearly 1 in 6

> people in the United

> States who are suffering from arthritis or an allied

> condition, for all

> of us here.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

i saw it in the arthritis newsletter. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

sounds like a great pickup line!!! sounds like an idea gina. i haven't even

made it to an ace meeting yet. kathy in il