Participating in a national POP conference is a big deal to those of us engaged in the slowly evolving and considerably valuable field of pelvic organ prolapse. Participating in a national/international POP venue is like a POP convention on steroids for me. I want to hear what the international POP community is doing, saying, thinking, using, modifying, and evolving when it comes to pelvic organ prolapse treatment. APOPS has always addressed POP awareness, support, and guidance from the all women matter stance. To say I’ve been pumped for the past month is a huge understatement. The AUGS/IUGA conference did not disappoint me.
Read moreThe STIGMA OF FECAL INCONTINENCE
Why can’t we talk about incontinence out loud? Why do we worry so much what others will think of us if it happens to us? Why can’t we discuss poop in open conversation? STIGMA has kept this topic off-limits. That has to change. Someone has to talk about poop out loud and what happens when everything “lets loose” in public. The unmentionable stuff. So let me start the conversation….
Read moreEVERY WOMAN DESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE OR REFUSE MESH →
I’ve posted my fair share of mesh articles; those familiar with my path know that I am a transvaginal mesh success story and freely share intimate details of my personal journey. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time speaking one on one with women who’ve experienced mesh complications via phone, email, and in person as well as sharing my thoughts with the FDA Committee and meeting participants at the FDA Ob/Gyn Medical Device Advisory Committee Mesh Meeting in September of 2011.
Read moreWHEN ADOVCACY AND HEALTHCARE COME TOGETHER
All too often in the corporate, legislative, and academic sector, entities get caught up in day to day activities and forget that the people they are serving are what matter most. Sadly it occasionally occurs in the advocacy sector too; nonprofits have much work to do and more often than not a significant amount of time and attention is focused on keeping the machine oiled and functional. According to National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS), in 2012 there were over 1.5 million nonprofit orgs in the US. But simply hanging the "nonprofit" sign on your wall does not mean an org is serving your constituency the way the nonprofit sector was designed to work.
Read moreFUNDRAISERS: IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE MONEY
I've always had a hard time looking at fundraising from the financial side-I tend to look at it from the awareness side. One more avenue to generate awareness of pelvic organ prolapse is a good thing in my book.
Read moreCHANGE IS COMING!
As my journey blossomed from author to advocate, I listened to many of you reiterate my exact sentiments. "Why wasn't I told about this before?" became an echo I heard and continue to hear repetitively. We feel insulted that the healthcare community did not share information about a condition incredibly invasive to our lives. I'm thrilled to report that the POP arena is changing.
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