Laurence Gonzales (Body of Evidence, May issue) was right on the money as he wrote about trusting our own instincts when it comes to making decisions about our own health care.

In July 2004, I was told two pathology labs had “independently confirmed” that I had a very rare form of lymphoma.  After a battery of medical tests, all of which had negative results, I was told that if I didn’t begin chemotherapy immediately, I wouldn’t survive to the end of the year.

My gut told me differently, and many hours of research, a second opinion, and lots of questions later, I was able to prove I did not have cancer at all.  I never set out to prove I didn’t have lymphoma.  My goal was to learn about my options and to empower myself with as much knowledge as I could collect about the disease I had been told would likely kill me.  The misdiagnosis was later confirmed by a highly respected pathologist at the National Institutes of Health. 

That incredibly horrible experience, my own frustration at the lack of guidance in doing my research, and my own belief that everything happens for a reason, have since led me to develop a tool to help others do exactly what I did.  Just a few months ago, I launched a new website to help people work with their doctors to figure out the right answers for themselves.  I hope you will help me tell the world that they can do so by logging on to:  www.diagKNOWsis.org.

Knowledge and empowerment are always a good thing.  Post-40, we deal not only with problem diagnoses for ourselves, but often for our parents as well.  It is my hope that others can feel as empowered as I did by learning all they can using the many tools and options that are available at diagKNOWsis.org .

This is a letter to the editor, of course.  I would be pleased to turn it into an article if that would suit your needs.  I’m a writer (marketing and public relations) by trade – and would love to provide you with even more information.

Best Regards,

Trisha Torrey