What's it like to be a patient facing serious illness in today's medical environment?

The New York Times has a very detailed series of interviews with real patients facing such illnesses as stroke, Parkinson's, Prostate Cancer, Bipolar Disorder, Spinal Cord Injuries and Crohn's Disease.

One Aids patient speaks out about wht it's like to be ostracized from her church family because of her disease.

Read One year of listening to patients

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• A U.S. Supreme Court Justice Speaks on Behalf of Alzheimer's Patients Families and caregivers of Alzheimer's patients have a strong ally  in retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner. Her husband John has Alzheimer's and she understands the difficulties of caregiving  because she is in the midst of her own personal struggles. O'Conner spoke before congress today in order to help others......
• New Hospital Gowns Give Dignity Back to Patients  One of the biggest problems experienced by the sick in hospital settings is the frightening loss of control and dignity.  I don't think medical personal take the time to deal with this issue as much as they should. Healing is psychological as well as physical.  If a sick person is stressed......
• Have You Run Diagnostics Lately On Your Health Insurance? Just like any kind of insurance, you should be reviewing the status and amount of coverage you receive from your health insurance plan, at least once a year. What happens all too frequently is that coverages change, the deductibles change, the out of pocket amounts change, and you aren't aware......
• Is Your Health Treatment Center Sanitary? As if we didn't have enough to worry about as we maneuver our way through the complicated health care system, this disturbing dialysis sanitary news is coming out of New York. An Upper West Side dialysis center has been shut down by the New York Health Department because of an......
• Is Your Parents' Home Really Accident-Proof?  Your aging parents are one fall away from disability.As older people age, common household falls could lead to loss of independence and even death.Have you walked through your parents' home to check for obstacles?What about  such innocent items as throw rugs?  Do they have anti-skid bottoms?What happens if your eighty-year-old......

• Tips for Young Looking Skin The skin is the largest of all human organs, and it comprises a surface area of between 15 and 20 feet. Our skin is vital to our health and wellness, and it is capable of protecting us from becoming dehydrated or becoming poisoned by the toxic elements within the environment.......
• Affordable Health care for America? Mainly it taxed all plans above $8500 premium to fund the social terms of the bill, the first part is the house bill and the second part is the modified Senate Bill that we also tweeted in the pre Christmas extended session AHCA Act as cleared by the House in......
• DaVinci: Stem cell treatment helped spinal cord patients Image via Wikipedia Following up on eight acute and chronic spinal cord injury patients who were injected with bone marrow stem cells two years ago, researchers say that the therapy proved safe and effective in improving their quality of life. DaVinci Biosciences undertook the study in Ecuador and have......
• Ruptured Peroneus Longus Tendon So as I mentioned in my weigh in post, on Tuesday I was playing volleyball at the local community center.... It was a 3 on 3 game and we were receiving.   My teammate passed the ball to the setter and I was backing up to position for the approach for the......
• 4 Habits for Saving Money on Routine Family Medical Care The following guest column is from Paul at www.healthharbor.com.  HealthHarbor is a site devote to helping people be smarter consumers of healthcare.  It provides ideas and guidance on saving money on healthcare, getting the most from your health coverage, and hosts an online community devoted to healthcare spending topics. As......