only link on quackwatch I could find about lymphology was his questioning of the International Academy of Lymphology which you can find at:

http://www.speedhealing.com/

Read Dr. West's website and tell me if you agree with him. I don't. His doctorates are correspondence school ones and his ideas outlandish.

__________________
Moderator - State Licensing Forum

Still skeptical after all these years.
This is it. There are no hidden meanings.WYSIWYG

http://www.internetmedicalschool.homestead.com

http://www.chiropractormds.homestead.com/index.html

http://www.valuemd.com/viewtopic.php?t=22814&start=0

__________________
Moderator - State Licensing Forum

Still skeptical after all these years.
This is it. There are no hidden meanings.WYSIWYG

http://www.internetmedicalschool.homestead.com

http://www.chiropractormds.homestead.com/index.html

I would totally agree with the assesment given on Dr. West's website. Infact, his is the most dangerous kind of quackery because it uses a grain of truth to seduce the unaware or uninformed.

However, I have always had a problem with generalities. If one were to simply read the quackwatche review, one would come away with the assumption that anything related to "lymphology" is quackery, which it is not. There needs to be a disclaimer that the review is specifically targeted to that one (only that one) site.

Now a days, everyone who wants to make a fast buck, writes an article "your lymph system needs cleansing" - then offers to help you with that process for a few hundred $US.

This is why on Lymphedema People and on Advocates for Lymphedema we speak of the desperate need for the study of lymphatic disorders to be an accredited sub-speciality of medicine.

There are over 120 million sufferers of lymphedema throughout the world and when you include other related disorders (lymphatic malformations, Trisomy 21, Klinfelter, Noonan's, Klippel, Jeken's et al) the need becomes apparent. Lymphatic disorders are the most misdiagnosed, improperly treated and least understood of any class of diseases and conditions.

I am not sure if you have ever gone through the treatment options sections of my website. I have come down extremely hard on numerous supposed treatment modalities for lymphedema and will continue to do so.

Also, I attempt to educate the layman to expect and demand independant clinical studies that confirm the validity of any treatment claim. The medical community and the lay public must work together on these issues.

If Mr. barrett wishes to help, he should be more specific - and be sure he does not taint everything in a given field.

Pat O'Connor
Lymphedema People
http://lymphedema.omno.org

the only mention of lymphology on www.quackwatch.com is pointing out the 'academy' is a questionable one. Barrett researchs well his skepticisms.

Your site is informative and a good one for people to learn about lymphedema.

__________________
Moderator - State Licensing Forum

Still skeptical after all these years.
This is it. There are no hidden meanings.WYSIWYG

http://www.internetmedicalschool.homestead.com

http://www.chiropractormds.homestead.com/index.html

Thank you, and welcome to ValueMD,

I would not have gone into the detail of Mr. Barrett if Az would not have tried to use him for reasoning to discredit distance learning programs. Now that I know about this man, Not just from Tim Bolen but from US court records and other people that have run into problems with this man, I discredit much of what he says.

As someone who orginally want to go into naturopathic medicine, I backed off because I wasn't sure just how to go about making a living when the medical coummunity is at war right now. I've taken naturopathic medicine courses in my undergraduate work and we had lots of guest speaker come into our class and talk how one form of naturopathic medicine has helped them. If I listen to Mr. Barrett, I would have to call all those people that I remember in my semeters that year a liar.

I choose to believe the people who says it has helped them. Whom am I or anyone else to say it's all in their mind. Even if it is all in thier mind, it doesn't matter because it worked where allopathic medicine failed to work. Many people believe in mind over matter, but when you mention naturopathic medicine, people like Mr. Barrett freak out. This isn't to say that I disagree with all his words. However, people have the God given right to do what they want to do with thier bodies. And, Mr. Barrett and whom ever his followers are don't have the right to try to shut down what people feel is working for them in terms of health.

Thanks for coming and Pat I do pray for you and your cause. It was a great honor meeting you and finally not having someone on this site trying to run me off because I believe.

-Dr.2B

Thanks so much for your warm welcome, Dr2B.

To me it pretty much boils down to a simple premise. Advancement in science, be it medical or theoretical physics (another hobby) rests on two factors.

First, is the need to question. This can only occur if we understand that we are not the source of all knowledge. Example, when Western man first went into the Amazon, we laughed at the prmitive savages and their herbal medicines. Now, we send teams of scientists into that same jungle to beg these "witch doctors" to teach us about these plant remedies because someone questioned their validity, did research and found out - OMG they work.

Second, is the need to find answers, even when none are apparent. Case in point.. at the time of I was diagnosed with the first type of lymphoma in 1995, my American doctors shrugged their shoulders and concluded there was no causative connection between hereditary lymphedema and lymphoma, despite our family history suggesting a possible pattern. However, a doctor in Spain was doing research on this very subject and soon published reports of multiple patterns of hereditary familial lymphedema and lymphoma. Then came the clencher. Reports have now come out with the discovery that mutated VEGF cells have been found in the blood of lymphoma patients. By the way, the principle gene responsible for hereditary lymphedema is the VEGF-C. So, because someone refused to accept "I don't know" as an answer, great progress is being made in both lymphedema and lymphoma in understanding the role of the VEGF family in both conditions.

Always question, always seek answers.

Pat O'Connor
Lymphedema People
http://lymphedema.omno.org

I've always wanted to practice naturopathic medicine and I allowed my fears by what other was saying about the feild to persaude me to go into allopathic medicine. However, the more I see how the government trys to restrict medicine and try to make it so that only a "Licensed Physician" can deal with individual health, it really worries me. I for one do believe in naturopathic medicine. I understand the history of how what we have now is due to naturopathic medicine. I also understand that the reason why so many people are against naturopathic medicine has to do with the allopathic medical community fearing that they will no longer be considered the "BOSS".

If we spent the time, researches and money on naturopathic medicine, we would discover a whole new way of looking at the human body and how it functions. Instead, we spent billions of dollars on developing drug after drug. Outside of emergency situation which require invasion procedures to save a life, an allopathic physician is no more than a individual who is licensed to dispense drugs. A typical office vist is no longer than 10min. No time is given to fully understand what is happening to the patient. It's sad really sad.

However, the more I read about stories such as yourself, the more I think I made the wrong decision in choosing to go the allopathic route. It's not to late for me though, I can still get my MD and then apply to Naturopathic Medical school. That route will surely take me well over owing $150,000 in student loans, but it may be worth it. I just won't be able to let people know that I would have an MD. That's crazy. But, that's the time we live in right now. The allopathic medical community is so afraid that business will be taken away from them that they go as far as restricting the use of term "Doctor" and using the initials M.D. Of course they will say that it's to protect the public. But we all know that that's a bunch of bull. I feel as though if you earn the MD degree, you should be able to use the initals and be called a Doctor as long as you don't use it in a fashion to mislead the public into thinking your a licensed physician. However, even that is a complexed issue because when you say your a doctor, people automatically think your an MD. What the state fails to realize is that once people find out your an MD, they are going to come to you and ask you question regardless if your licensed or not. I must have been asked 10 question a day when I worked as Medical Assistant. I've always had to say, go see your doctor because I could lose my license if I had told them what to do. I'll never forget when I working as a surgical tech, I was assiting an AB procedure. The patient pulled me aside and ask if this procedure could pose harm to her latter down the years. Well the answer was yes there was a percentage of a chance that it could. But we would take good care of her and only time could determine the results. Well, for making that comment, I was almost fired and my licensing board called. I spoke the truth. I didn't tell her lie. The doctor told her the same thing I had told her.

Anywho, I'm getting off of topic, if you like to PM me Pat you can because I do have some question which I rather not ask in open forum.

-Dr.2B

in the US there are 4 schools that are approved for study (see Az's website for instance that shows the links

http://www.npbomex.az.gov/School%20Directory.html

and a new school Boucher in British Columbia has preliminary approval.

Scope of practice for naturopaths in Az, for instance, allows minor surgery, prescription privileges, and just about everything else that an MD can do except sign a death certificate

__________________
Moderator - State Licensing Forum

Still skeptical after all these years.
This is it. There are no hidden meanings.WYSIWYG

http://www.internetmedicalschool.homestead.com

http://www.chiropractormds.homestead.com/index.html

At this website:

http://www.cnme.org/

go to the links page and find all the schools.

additional background

http://www.valuemd.com/viewtopic.php?t=21389