Our Purpose
While doing research on lymphedema following my diagnosis in mid-2016, particularly reading posts on Inspire (www.inspire.com), patterns began to emerge. One of the most striking was how few physicians knew about lymphedema and how to diagnose and treat it. I started looking into lymphedema education for physicians and what there was seemed overly wordy, and really boring to read! In this day and age, shorter and more concise is better and more likely to be read.
During sessions with a counselor, we discussed the lack of education of physicians and she asked what I could do about it. I realized with my healthcare and education background, I had the skill set to improve the lymphedema information flow and decided to launch the 10 Things LE Project, beginning with 10 Things I Want My Physician to Know About Lymphedema (LE). I contacted several individuals on the Inspire site to help me. Through emails and conference calls, we produced the first 10 Things in about 3 months. You can find it under Resources on this site.
Next, we worked on 10 Things I’d Like My Family and Friends to Know About Lymphedema (LE). The project team also finalized 10 Things My Family and Friends Can Do to Support Me with My Lymphedema. Both lists appear on the Resources page.
The Project team now is working on three more lists, tentatively titled 10 Things I Wish I’d Known About Lymphedema (LE) at the Beginning, 10 Things My Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT) Taught Me About Lymphedema (LE), and 10 Things I Need to Know About Compression Garments for Lymphedema (LE).
There are lots of other topics that lend themselves to 10 Things LE as well. Some we’ve thought about, but many we haven’t. Do you have some ideas that you’d like to see us develop?
Please contact me on the Inspire site as DrBEP or via email at bepuetz@puetzconsulting.com
Call for Authors
We need volunteers to help with this site. If you have a story or information to share, please let me know. Feedback is welcome! Thank you.