WISCASSET, Maine — Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education, a nonprofit 501c3 organization that raises awareness, fosters education, advocates for change and provides local support and resources to Midcoast Maine’s Lyme community, will hold its second annual Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education Conference 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at Wiscasset Community Center.
Doors open and registration begins at 7:30 a.m. There is no pre-registration and there is no charge.
Speaker line up includes:
- Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association who will speak on the state of Lyme Disease as it effects our entire nation and where Maine fits into the picture.
- Dorothy Leland, VP of Education and Outreach for Lymedisease.org and author of “When Your Child Has Lyme” will speak on when Lyme Disease affects the whole family.
- Maine Association of Naturopathic Doctors (MAND) will hold a Q&A panel of doctors taking questions from the audience and will address the role of naturopathic medicine in managing Lyme and tick-borne diseases.
- Dr. Sheila Statlender, PhD, a clinical psychologist, will introduce the role of the mental health practitioner in assessing and treating tick-borne diseases.
- Bob Giguere will representing Igenex, the leading reference laboratory that specializes in state-of-the-art clincial and research testing for Lyme Disease and associated tick-borne diseases, speaking on the current Lyme testing methods.
- Keynote speaker is Dr. Daniel Cameron, MD, MPH, immediate past president of International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, who is a nationally recognized leader for his expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. For more than 25 years, he has been treating adolescents and adults suffering from Lyme disease. Dr. Daniel Cameron & Associates, located in Mount Kisco, N.Y., has been serving patients since 1987. He also is affiliated with Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. Within a year of opening his practice, Dr. Cameron, a board-certified internist and epidemiologist, began treating a growing number of patients exhibiting persistent, recurrent symptoms, including neurological manifestations, caused by chronic Lyme disease. He has since treated thousands of Lyme disease patients and become a pioneer in the field.
After receiving his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1981, he earned a masters degree in public health from the University of Minnesota, which focused on chronic illness. After completing residencies at Beth Israel Medical Center and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, Dr. Cameron served as Assistant Professor of Medicine in Geriatrics at the New York College of Medicine. He has also been heavily involved in clinical research.
His interest in research and teaching continues at his private practice where he manages the Lyme Disease Practice and Research (LDPR) project and mentors health care practitioners interested in learning more about Lyme and tick-borne diseases. Physicians and practitioners, from across the country, visit his office to receive on-site training and education in diagnosing and treating all stages of Lyme disease. Meanwhile, ongoing clinical trials are performed through the LDPR in an effort to improve the level of care for Lyme disease patients.
Along with the impressive speaker line-up, there will be more than 25 vendors offering products and services to those affected by Lyme and tick-borne disease.
This conference promises to deliver information, education, answers, direction but above else — hope that those affected by Lyme and tick-borne diseases can find their way back to health and wellness.
For information about the conference or MLDSE, visit the website at www.midcoastlymediseasesupport.blogspot.com
This post was contributed by a community member, Paula Jackson Jones