My reply in the Washington Post

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barbara

Pioneer Founding member
The Washington Post had an article on stem cell therapy that Jeannine and I interviewed for after the reporter saw my red flag warning for SCB on this forum. Unfortunately, the article was poorly done and in fact I have no clue what it was meant to accomplish other than perhaps it was commissioned by someone in the U.S. who does not like to see other countries getting ahead of us in stem cell therapy. Anyway, I did comment immediately after the article was posted on line and my comments are below. For those of you that don't know me, I am alive and well and going to have an autologous stem cell treatment in the U.S. on Monday, Sept. 8. For all of you that have sent me well wishes, thank you. Hopefully, the next time this reporter decides to do a story, he will get his facts straight. It was very disappointing and essentially not factual in my case.


patamadre wrote:
I told Brian when he interviewed me that I believe in stem cell therapy wholeheartedly. Jeannine and I founded www.stemcellpioneers.com and it has become one of the largest patient moderated forums for stem cell discussion and support that there is. We even wrote a book about our experience because we feel that stem cell therapy gives patients with chronic and terminal diseases like we have the best hope there is.I am not opposed to getting treatment in foreign countries as we are very slow to get things going here in the US. What I wish to expose is companies that are not using safe methods and following established protocols. Dr. Feinerman is a good doctor in my opinion, but Mr.Nabavi did not follow his protocols. I think Dr. Feinerman was as much a victim as I was. I
was hesitant to give an interview because I do not want stem cell therapy viewed in a bad light. The article is good at exposing some bad companies, but Brian should do a follow up and report on the success stories and the companies that are
reputable and truly caring. There are many. Barbara Hanson
9/2/2008 1:44:31 AM
 
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alex

New member
Can you let us know, were in the US (what clinic) are you going to have stem cell treatment?
 
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alex

New member
I found the article and read it. I doesn't seem that Brian was interested in the positive aspects of stem cell treatment. It looks like this reporter had his mind made up to write what he wrote - especially since you told him that you believe in stem cell treatment - no mention of that.

He only wrote about patients with "negative" results. Why not add stories of patients with positive results? Isn't that what reporting should be all about - being objective, not skewed to the reporter's point of view?

I think we'll be getting these type of articles for a long time coming. It's a shame; especially for all the people that look toward stem cell treatment and then get scared off by articles like that.

I am glad for this forum; it gave me a chance to talk to people that actually went down this road and were able to give me an actual account as to their recovery. We are glad to have joint their ranks and are able to tell our story to others that are looking for factual information.

alex
 
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barbara

Pioneer Founding member
Alex - I thought the article was poorly done also. However, if it does scare anyone off from going to Stem Cell Biotherapy, it will be worth it in my opinion. There are also bound to be some people not ready to try stem cell therapy and if they are scared off, then to me, this is a good thing too. Politicians are complaining about poor media reporting and I can truly empathize with them after this. My interview came out like I was some pathetic creature that had lost all my savings on a strange treatment of some kind. I even was told not to smile by the photographer. I guess that I was supposed to look very grave or something. I honestly do not know where the reporter came up with his information. We do not "broker" anyone to have therapy and I did not pay $17000 to have treatment. It was inaccurate to say the least. Anyway, for those of you that missed the article, you really didn't miss a thing. It did not say one good thing about stem cell therapy and it didn't say enough bad about poor clinics and doctors. It was vague to me to say the least. I also think that it should have been pointed out that Jeannine and I co founded this forum because we do believe in stem cell therapy. I am more enthused about it than ever in my quest for the cure. The advances being made are very encouraging to me. My treatment on Monday will be at a private trial in California. It is an autologous treatment with no manipulation and that is why I can have it done in the U.S. I am not able to give any other details right now, darn it.
 
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Mysty119

New member
Barb

Will you, or have you contacted this reporter and asked him why he seemed to report only on the negative side and mentioned nothing of yours and Jeannine's feelings about treatment? Told him that he should have made you aware that he (obviously) was looking for a totally biased report?
 
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barbara

Pioneer Founding member
The reporter is a member of this forum and should be quite aware that I am a strong proponent of stem cell therapy. I am not sure what the point of the story was except that someone must have wanted it written in an effort to make offshore treatments look bad. I know this is not the rule with foreign companies, but there are some out there that are running questionable operations at a huge cost to desperately ill people and the story did little to really delve into that aspect in my opinion. It was almost a fluff article. Politicians are complaining about inaccurate and non factual reporting so it must be commonplace. I know the article was not how I interpreted that it would be written or I probably would not have agreed to an interview. I also found it amusing that the photographer was at my home clicking hundreds of photos for one hour and twenty minutes. The photo that was chosen was one that made me look like I was fuming, dying or full of prunes instead of my normal cheerful, happy, self. (This does not apply prior to 10:00 am, however when the fuming, dying or full of prunes would apply).
 
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