FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
WORLD FAMOUS WRITER
SHARES OWN STORY OF LYME
AMY TAN’S REAL LIFE
SCRIPT CAPTURES NATION’S ATTENTION
Bethesda
MD January 9, 2004 —
It takes courage, talent and compassion to do what bestselling fiction writer
Amy Tan has just done for Lyme disease patients and professionals around
the globe. Tan has just devoted months of her life and an entire chapter
of her latest book to the subject of Lyme disease after suffering from the
disease herself.
Tan is considered one
of the best writers of our time (six best selling books, including The
Joy Luck Club). For four years, this brilliant mind endured symptoms
which undereducated medical professionals could not identify or explain.
At times Tan couldn’t write. She couldn’t keep up with conversations
at parties. She’d get lost in her own neighborhood, and she suffered
frightening hallucinations. Cognitive lapses were compounded by chronic
fatigue and extreme physical pain. Ten doctors, different antidepressants,
steroids, and surgery failed to provide the help and answers she needed.
After an exhaustive
search for answers, Tan finally found ILADS’ physician, Dr. Raphael
Stricker, who diagnosed Tan with Lyme. Dr. Stricker’s suspicions
were confirmed by tests done at IGeneX Reference Laboratory run by another
ILADS member, Dr. Nick Harris. Tan then decided she wanted to “give
back” to the Lyme community by speaking out about her experience
and the need for more education. She took to network news airwaves and
did interviews with the nation’s top television reporters.
Tan is now undergoing
appropriate treatment for Lyme. Her symptoms still exist but they’ve
been greatly reduced. She is writing again as evidenced by her latest
book The Opposite of Fate in which she devotes her epilogue to
her struggle with Lyme.
ILADS president,
Dr. Steven Phillips says “we are very grateful to Ms. Tan for having
the courage and compassion to come forward. She has done a remarkable
thing for Lyme patients around the world.”
Tan concluded her
crusade for Lyme education by providing the keynote speech at this year’s
ILADS International conference in Pennsylvania.
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