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Since 2002, Dr. Lisa Sanders, who is an associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine, has been writing “Diagnosis,” a column in the New York Times. Dr. Sanders writes about people who have as-yet-undiagnosed medical aliments and are searching for answers. Working with these individuals, she shares in her columns information about their conditions in the hopes that her readers might be able to offer suggestions that could help them and their doctors figure out what the right diagnoses are. Her column is now a series on Netflix. `
Another series that similarly aims to help people who are searching for answers about their undiagnosed medical conditions is Ann Curry’s Chasing the Cure:
Ann Curry‘s new series Chasing the Cure isn’t your average medical mystery TV show.
Each week, the live television broadcast and 24/7 digital platform connects doctors and medical professionals from around the world with people suffering from undiagnosed medical mysteries.
Curry, 62, says the idea for the unique show came after her colleague Jennifer O’Connell saw that her son’s teacher has posted an appeal on Facebook about her husband being sick.
“The couple couldn’t afford care and they couldn’t figure what was wrong with him,” the former Today co-host tells PEOPLE. “I think we’ve all seen those kinds of postings.”
An opportunity arose: What if they could use social media together with live television for good? The idea then started to “snowball,” Curry says.
From the start, Curry says her role — in addition to hosting and executive producing the series — has been patient advocate.
“My first response was, ‘How do I protect the patient?’” she explains. “I feel that that’s my job on the broadcast, on the air and I think that’s my job behind the scenes as a hands-on executive producer — it’s my job all throughout it trying to protect the patient.”
Right away, people flocked to the digital platform looking for help. “Our website crashed the first night that we were live on air because there were so many people checking it,” she says. “The upload in terms of the number of cases has been dramatic.”
[From People]
I think using crowdsourcing for good is a great idea, and I’m sure that most of us have seen a post from a friend asking for help identifying a possible medical condition/cause for an ache or a pain. And, it made sense that at some point, someone would turn this into a TV show (or two) that has the potential to help not just people who appear on the show, but countless people watching. I appreciate what Ann says about wanting to “protect the patient.”
That said, I saw part of an episode of this show, and the staged drama made me uncomfortable and annoyed. Everyone knows what they are signing up for when they agree to be on it, but it seemed like the show (unnecessarily) tried to manufacture drama. There was a tone of heightened suspense: “What might this collection of symptoms mean?” (DUN DUN) “What suggestions are coming into the call center staffed by eager volunteers?” (Obviously, these suggestions are collected and before the show airs so that they can be commented on.) “What diagnosis are the doctors finally going to go with?” (DUN DUN) I wonder whether anyone whose symptoms aren’t eventually definitively connected to a particular illness/condition has been//will be on the show.
I once had to visit several doctors over many long, frustrating months before meeting one who could finally help me when I was ill, and I was indescribably grateful to finally have answers and a way forward. I’m so thrilled for these people who are getting the diagnoses that they need so that they can focus on effective treatment. However, there is inherently a large amount of tension in not knowing what condition(s) you’re living with. The manufactured drama (that is to keep the viewers interested) bothered me because it seemed exploitative and unnecessary from a patient’s perspective. But, if the show helps people, that’s a great outcome.
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