009 - Being A Diagnosis Detective

The Gaslight Effect

On this episode, Dr. Robin Stern talks with Tami Burdick about her journey of self-advocacy in which she worked closely with her doctors to diagnose and cure a rare inflammatory breast disease.

Tami's book, Diagnosis Detective: Curing Granulomatous Mastitus is a:

"memoir is about how one woman was cured of a chronic inflammatory breast disease known as Granulomatous Mastitis, by her own advocacy, independent extensive research, due diligence, and discovering a pathology test which finally led to a cause to her disease. The author shares her private details of her own year-and-a-half journey and obstacles she endured to finally reach remission by curing her disease. Other women also share their unique experiences with battling the various types of the same traumatic disease."

Tami and Robin also discuss Tami's very personal experience of medical gaslighting within her immediate family, and the current struggle to get comprehensive care within the medical industry.

While Tami's experience with the medical community required her to provided self-advocacy and ultimately led to her being directly involved in her own disease diagnosis, her specific situation most likely did not rise to the level of gaslighting.

But her experience showcases the need for patients to do their own research, and be their own advocate, especially when facing difficult diagnoses.

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