TOUCHED BY LYME: "Project Censored" lists Lyme disease epidemic as one of 2011's most under-reported stories
Every year, “Project Censored,” a news-monitoring research program affiliated with Sonoma State University in California, produces a Top-25 list of underreported news stories. These are also included in an annual book, “Censored,” dedicated to news stories that ought to be widely reported but are not.
According to the group’s website, the mission of Project Censored is to teach students and the public about censorship in the mass media. “On a daily basis, censorship refers to the intentional non-inclusion of a news story – or piece of a news story – based on anything other than a desire to tell the truth. Such manipulation can take the form of political pressure (from government officials and powerful individuals), economic pressure (from advertisers and funders), and legal pressure (the threat of lawsuits from deep-pocket individuals, corporations, and institutions).”
Number 21 of Project Censored’s top-25 is the Lyme disease epidemic. From the website:
Lyme disease is one of the most political and controversial epidemics of our time. Lyme originates from a bacteria transmitted through the bite of a tick and can remain hidden – often being called the great imitator – mimicking other diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, ADHD and other neurological conditions. And it is growing – new cases of Lyme occur each year at a rate ten times higher then that of AIDS and the West Nile Virus combined.
Current Lyme treatment guidelines were developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), a group associated with pharmaceutical, insurance and university interests that are profiting from the diagnostic criteria, vaccines and recommended treatments for Lyme. These guidelines, endorsed by the National Institute of Health and the CDC, define the treatment of Lyme as a two to four week course of antibiotic therapy.
Physicians who believe Lyme is a more chronic condition needing long-term treatment, risk losing their medical license for treating patients outside IDSA guidelines. And insurance companies refuse to pay for longer treatments despite evidence that illustrates the chronic nature of the condition and the effectiveness of long-term therapies. This leaves thousands of Lyme patients suffering from a commercialized medical community that won’t acknowledge the chronic nature of their illness and the public uneducated about a growing epidemic.
As sources, the website lists the Lyme Disease Association (LDA), International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), the documentary film “Under Our Skin,” the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Health Watch news reports from CBS-San Francisco. (Note: I remember that 2-part TV news series. It focused on a Lyme patient’s difficulty in getting insurance coverage for her IV Lyme treatment. It came about because the patient contacted the TV station. See, readers, one individual CAN make a difference.)
Between 700 and 1000 stories are submitted to Project Censored each year from journalists, scholars, librarians, and concerned citizens around the world. With the help of more than 200 Sonoma State University faculty, students, and community members, Project Censored reviews the story submissions for coverage, content, reliability of sources and national significance. The university community selects 25 stories to submit to the Project Censored panel of judges who then rank them in order of importance. All 25 stories are featured in the yearbook, “Censored.”
Click here to read more about Project Censored.
TOUCHED BY LYME is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, LymeDisease.org’s VP for Education and Outreach. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org.
This is terrific! People pay attention to this report through the years. We need to thank them! And get https://www.lymedisease.org listed on the website too!
I believe the woman whose story was covered on primetime TV got some insurance coverage afterwards.
That is good news. I just hope I live to see the truth about Chronic Lyme on the front page of the New York Times.
This is terrific! People pay attention to this report through the years. We need to thank them! And get https://www.lymedisease.org listed on the website too!
I believe the woman whose story was covered on primetime TV got some insurance coverage afterwards.
That is good news. I just hope I live to see the truth about Chronic Lyme on the front page of the New York Times.
If this disease is known to be affecting 10x more people than Aids and West Nile and Also mimicks several other debilitating diseases, but the government and insurance agencies army moving on it, hmm I smell a cover up! Or at least a loss of responsibility to the public!
I just pray that I will not be dead before they realize that chronic lyme disease is such a debilitating disease. I am fighting for my life, looking for a doctor that accepts our insurance that will help me to keep from becoming an invalid. I have already lost 5 years of my life to this illness.
Thank you for shining a light on this travesty that put my child into debliating pain, lost her 2 years of her life so far, she's better now thanks to a brave and talented doctor, but still not "out of the woods" yet.
I am very glad for all the information. However, this news needs to travel fast. For instance, look at Bonnie S. and her comments. Bonnie, I know what you mean by "Fighting for your life" I am praying for you too. I am a Lymie too. It is so tough. Blessings to all reading…
Lisa
Thank God for this report! I nearly died three years ago, several times, from Lyme disease. I was first misdiagnosed as having MS, had to fight doctors to find out what I really had. Then I actually got MS for the lyme lesions in my brain, and now I am in another slow debilitating decline suffering with horrible arthritis pain and cognitive dysfunction. I am so sick of people not believing in this being chronic. I can not work or clean my house in any normal fashion, and I am a wife and mother who is trying to lead a normal life. I am back on antibiotics after they saved my life the first time, I was on them for a year and a half. For us it is our chemo. Tell me what doctor would deny a cancer patient that. And more are getting sicker from ignorance. I am just sad.
Blowing the reality of Lyme Disease out of the water, is long over due. There clearly has been significant cover-up, otherwise there'd be insurance coverage. You'd think that big pharma would be pushing hard for this. they stand to make a killing. Not too good for insurance companies though. This illness was finally diagnosed in my wife 3 1/2 years ago & has cost us most of our savings. Not too sure where it'll come from going forward. This maddening dis-ease has a profound effect on everyone close to the infected person. You all know what it's like, never to be able to make plans of any sort & reasonably be able to keep them. Every day boils down to "it depends how I feel. I'll have to wait and see." Also seems that friends & family tend to push away. This is probably out of frustration. How many times have you heard,"I know someone who had Lyme & took some antibiotics and are fine now." This always infuriates me b/c it suggests that the lengthy list of expensive LLMD's that I've taken my wife to was all a waste. Sorry for all the rambling. I know that many of you feel the same way. Little by little, the truth is surfacing. This won't go on for ever. Be strong!
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