Wednesday, August 26, 2009

RA and the "News"

I want to share this morning my utter dissapointment in Woman's Day Magazine.

In an article in their August 4th 2009 issue (linked above)Woman's Day published an article on Rheumatoid Arthritis that, in my opinion, very much trivializes what it is like to live with this disease. It is as if the writer picked up a pamphlet somewhere and then glossed over the facts. A far better picture of what it is really like to live with this disease comes from the 33 comments that follow the article online. Though they stand by their article (much to my chagrin) I have to admit that they posted the following comment only after many complaints:

We know there's nothing worse than being in pain and feeling like you're being dismissed, which was certainly not our intention. Please see the editor's note we added to the end of the story. Our sources at the Arthritis Foundation tell us that a large percentage of people being treated for RA still have pain, stiffness or fatigue, so we understand that this isn't something that's easy to deal with. The foundation offers a program, called Let's Talk RA, that may be helpful for some of you. Here's the link: http://www.arthritis.org/letstalkra.php

Barbara Brody
WD Health Editor


Woman's Day magazine was first published in 1931. I remember seeing it in my mom's stack of magazines for my entire life. I have picked up a copy at the grocery probably hundreds of times when something caught my eye. This whole experience has tainted my view of this institution of a magazine. It has cost them my readership and I am sure I am not the only person who will take this stance. Not only will I not purchase it- I will be sharing this with my Mom and anyone else who will listen.

As is my goal- I have found a bright side to this. It is my habit to read several wonderful bloggers who happen to share my journey with chronic illness. One of these blogs is titled Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior and this post is the one that brought my attention to the Woman's Day article. Not only has she brilliantly shared what the REAL RA is like for many of us, she has led the way in the charge against the article and many of us have banded together to follow in her footsteps and make our voices heard. She is a breath of fresh air when it comes to blogging about illness and as her name says- a true Warrior, fighting the misconceptions about living with this disease. I salute you RA Warrior! You are one of our Super Hero's in the fight against and education about RA.

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