What the heck is a web feed and why should I care?

October 16, 2006 — EclecticGeek

EVERYTHING you’ve ever wanted to know about web feeds will be contained in this post. Okay. Not really but if you’re interested in staying better connected, keep reading.

All information is quoted from the Wikipedia entry on web feeds.

What is a web feed?

A web feed is a data format used for serving users’ frequently updated content. Content distributors syndicate a web feed, thereby allowing users to subscribe to it.

What are some of the benefits?

Users can be notified of new content without having to actively check for it. The information presented to users in an aggregator is typically much simpler than most websites. Media files can be automatically downloaded without user intervention.

How do I use a feed?

You need a feed reader—this is a tool like an email program. It’s like getting an email every time one of your subscriptions updates their content, except no email address is required. There are many feed readers—some are online (like a webmail account), some are offline (you download the program to your computer), some are free and some aren’t. Some examples include: My Yahoo, My MSN, Bloglines, Firefox (browser) Live Bookmarks, Newsgator.

How do I add feeds to my feed reader?

Click the relevant links (e.g. the “add to my Yahoo!” button, if you’re using My Yahoo!, Google too!) or copy-paste the link in to your feed reader. Sometimes there will be a button for your particular feed reader on the blog that will take you to the appropriate subscription page. Feed aggregators like FeedBurner are designed to help readers easily add new feeds (in a variety of formats) to their favored feed reader.

Site Feeds:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GeekWithFibroids2 (this blog)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/CommentsForGeekWithFibroids (comments only)

Visit the feed links to find out more information.

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Related Blog Entry:
Sign up and receive “inquisitive geek with fibroid tumors” updates!

Posted in Blogging, Geek, References, Site News. Comments Off

Remaking American Medicine (great PBS series on the US health care system)

October 6, 2006 — EclecticGeek

Remaking American Medicine PBSJust saw the first installment of this four-part PBS series on fixing the broken US health care system. Check your local listings to catch the other episodes.

Remaking American Medicine – Health Care for the 21st Century

From the site:

PROGRAM 1 – SILENT KILLER profiles individuals who are committed to fixing a health care system that is estimated to kill up to 98,000 people a year.
PROGRAM 2 – FIRST DO NO HARM focuses on efforts to eliminate hospital-acquired infections and medication errors.
PROGRAM 3 – THE STEALTH EPIDEMIC looks at groundbreaking efforts to create effective chronic disease management programs.
PROGRAM 4 – HAND IN HAND shows how a unique partnership between patients, families and providers is transforming a teaching hospital.

They have even created a detailed, informational companion site. Please check it out:

REMAKING AMERICAN MEDICINE

Includes an episode guide, patient tools and resources, becoming an empowered patient or caregiver, and the 100,000 lives campaign.

I’ve just starting skimming the site but would encourage EVERYONE (other countries, too) to at least read these two pages:

Top Ten Quality Indicators of an Effective Patient- and Family-Centered Physician
(ways you can evaluate your doctor today)

Top Ten Things a Patient or Family Member can do to Ensure Quality Care
(ways to get involved to improve your care)

I’m hoping to post more about this in the future. Helping women receive better care for uterine fibroids falls right under this “things are kind of broken” umbrella. Things must change. Not just in the US but globally. We all can help.

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Related Posts:
How do I find a good local fibroid doctor?
How do I evaluate or rate a fibroid doctor?
What questions should I ask my fibroid doctor?
PBS American Experience – Test Tube Babies (story of IVF research in the US)

Posted in Body, Fibroids, Health, Medical Decisions, Medicine, References, Women's Health. 2 Comments »

New: Index Page and Related (Fibroid) Posts… Doh!

September 19, 2006 — EclecticGeek

In an effort to finally shorten that right sidebar, I created an index page and moved the “View The Geek’s Posts On:” section there. Visit the page and find all of the fibroid topics covered on this site. Click a category to get a list of the relevant posts. You will also find an archive of posts by month.

Okay. I’m a little late with “Related Posts”. Should have been adding them to the end of my posts all along. Instead of just being linear, eventually the site will be one big interconnected web of fibroid posts and comments. I think I’ve finished about 5. Only another 105 posts to go. ;-)

Let me know if the changes are helping.

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Related Posts:
What’s on your mind? Tell me on the Feedback page.
Starting a new feature to assist in answering fibroid questions
You have questions and (with help) I have answers
Just changed the name of the FAQ page to Forum

Posted in Blogging, Fibroids, Health, Medicine, References, Site News, Women's Health. Comments Off

Just changed the name of the FAQ page to Forum

September 13, 2006 — EclecticGeek

It’s official. We have a little fibroid discussion forum. Check the page for questions. As more visitor questions are posted around the site, I’ll create a “thread” for them. If you have a question and do not see it listed, please post a comment there.

See you in the Fibroid Forum! :-)

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Related Posts:
What’s on your mind? Tell me on the Feedback page.
Starting a new feature to assist in answering fibroid questions
You have questions and (with help) I have answers
New: Index Page and Related (Fibroid) Posts… Doh!

Posted in Blogging, Fibroids, Health, Medical Decisions, Mind, Personal, References, Site News, Spirit, Women's Health. Comments Off

Psst… Where can I find pictures of fibroid tumors?

September 4, 2006 — EclecticGeek

Another popular search phrase – “pictures of fibroids”. I am hoping (one of these days) to figure a way to post the image I have of one of my fibroids. Acquired it after my Hysteroscopic Myomectomy. It actually shows where the doctor started shaving it down. Until then, here are a few sites to keep you occupied.

MayoClinic.com – How Fibroids Develop
Fibroids of multiple sizes (picture)
Fibroid locations (illustration)

MayoClinic.com – Signs and Symptoms
Degenerating fibroid (picture)

At MayoClinic.com, you can click the small thumbnail images to enlarge them.

Leiomyoma (Wikipedia)
Leiomyoma (fibroid) enucleated from a uterus (picture)
Notice the firm yet rubbery appearance.

Pictures of Fibroids (Flickr.com)
An interesting (dare I say, eclectic) assortment.

About Uterine Fibroids
MRI images of fibroids (scroll to the bottom of the page)

Know of other places to find fibroid pictures, photos, illustrations, or images? Want to comment on the ones listed here? Post your thoughts or questions.

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Related Posts:
OR-Live brings fibroid surgery video to your computer via medical webcasts
What are uterine fibroid tumors?
Would somebody tell me how much these dang fibroid tumors weigh?
Can I pass a uterine fibroid?

Posted in Body, Diagnosis, Fibroids, General Information, Health, MRI, Medicine, Questions, References, Women's Health. 12 Comments »

You have questions and (with help) I have answers

September 3, 2006 — EclecticGeek

Added a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. Guess I should call it AAQ because all asked questions will be there. Started making individual posts of fibroid questions I pulled from comments and search queries. The FAQ page is a listing of these posts.

I have it set up like a mini-forum. You can check the page for questions. Click the link and read the post. Leave comments (thoughts, questions) on that specific topic right there on that post. If you have a question and do not see it listed, leave a comment directly on the FAQ page.

As the number of listed posts grows, I’ll be able to group them and then create sub-pages to keep them organized. Only three questions in there right now but I’m working on other posts. This is a good addition to match people who have questions with people who have answers or experiences. That way, we’ll all learn a thing or two.

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Related Posts:
What’s on your mind? Tell me on the Feedback page.
Starting a new feature to assist in answering fibroid questions
Just changed the name of the FAQ page to Forum
New: Index Page and Related (Fibroid) Posts… Doh!

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UPDATES:
(September 4, 2006) I just noticed this was my 100th post. YAY! When I started, I didn’t think I would this much to say. Looking forward to posting many, many more.

(September 13, 2006) We now have a fibroid discussion forum. Changed the name of the FAQ page to Forum.

Posted in Blogging, Fibroids, Health, Medical Decisions, Medicine, References, Site News, Women's Health. 7 Comments »

Starting a new feature to assist with answering fibroid questions

August 26, 2006 — EclecticGeek

In keeping with the image in my header, this is one of my light bulb moments. I get a number of questions as comments. I respond but sometimes the person posting needs a personal experience or some regional information. I’ve decided to pull the questions and place them in separate posts (probably 20 or so).

My vision is a post with an excerpt from the visitor’s comment, a link to the original post where you can find the comment, and my response. I’ll then open the floor for feedback from you. Post an answer, response, another similar question, etc. These posts will be categorized according to the topic but I’ll also create a couple of new categories. Something like “Questions” and “Experiences”.

I’m still working on gathering information to create new pages but I think this will be a good added feature. It’s a way to focus on the question and have plenty of room for the answers. I’ll go through the comments and start posting these in the next day or two.

Let me know if this is a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” idea and of any other way I can assist.

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Related Posts:
What’s on your mind? Tell me on the Feedback page.
You have questions and (with help) I have answers
Just changed the name of the FAQ page to Forum
New: Index Page and Related (Fibroid) Posts… Doh!

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UPDATES:
(August 28, 2006) Couple of changes. Posted my email address in a few of my comments but I had to go back and remove them. Getting a bunch of spam. I will leave the address in the sidebar. So, if you need to contact me, look to the right and scroll down a bit. I’m also editing the links in my comments. Instead of just the URL (address), there will be descriptive phrase to click. I think this will make it easier for readers to get the information quickly (especially if there are lots of comments). Will post the first fibroid question today.

(August 29, 2006) Why does stuff tend to take a little longer than originally planned? I made it through the comments. YAY! I did add two categories – “Questions” and “Experiences”. Will add another as soon as I pick a name (something like “General” or “General Info”). Ended up with about 20 questions. I want them up by the end of the week so I better get cracking. :-)

(September 9, 2006) I’m STILL working on this. Hit a bit of a snag. Made posts with links to visitor comments only to discover that the links do not work. Arg! Found this out last night as I wandered around the WordPress forum. Someone else had the problem and pointed it out. Checked my links and sure enough, there’s a problem. They take you to the right post just not the specific comment. I sent a message using the WP feedback form so there is hope.

(September 11, 2006) The comment link problem is resolved. Yay! Links take you to the specific comment. Those question posts finally make sense. Sorry if this caused any confusion. Off now to write more.

Posted in Blogging, Fibroids, Health, Medical Decisions, Medicine, Personal, References, Site News, Women's Health. 3 Comments »

OR-Live brings fibroid surgery video to your computer via medical webcasts

August 24, 2006 — EclecticGeek

Thinking about a procedure but you want to learn a little more? Well, welcome to the world of almost too much information. OR-Live allows you to view a myriad of moderated surgical videos. Archived broadcasts are categorized by specialty (in case you want to see non-fibroid stuff). Plan ahead and you can even catch a video live.

OR-Live medical webcasts

I used this site as part of my medical decision process. After seeing the Uterine Fibroid Embolization broadcast several months ago, I knew I had to have it. Glad I viewed the UFE previously since I remember nothing from my actual procedure. :-)

Here’s the list:

Uterine Fibroid Embolization

Robotic Myomectomy Enables Treatment of Uterine Fibroids While Preserving Fertility

[Abdominal Myomectomy - A Treatment for the Removal of Fibroids]

da Vinci® Minimally Invasive Robotic Hysterectomy (view live on September 20, 2006; visit the site and sign up for an email reminder)

Advanced Technique for Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy

Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy

OK. Grab some popcorn and enjoy.

[Edited to add Abdominal Myomectomy video link. Thanks Val!]

Posted in Fertility, Fibroids, Health, Hysterectomy, Medical Decisions, Medicine, Minimally or Non-Invasive, Myomectomy, References, Science, Surgery, Treatment, Uterine Fibroid Embolization, Women's Health. Comments Off

Looking for a feed that specifically searches for uterine fibroid news?

August 12, 2006 — EclecticGeek

Mentioned previously how I am attempting to assemble a uterine fibroid reference site with specialized feeds and search tools. So far, the only medical/health news site that will allow me to tailor a feed is Google News. I’m still looking.

I’ve decided to go ahead and add that specific feed to this site. So, along the right side (probably have to scroll down a bit) there is a “Google News | Uterine Fibroids” section. Use the orange icon to get this news feed for yourself. Click on the individual title to view that particular story. Click on Google News | Uterine Fibroids to view the results of the Google News search using the words “uterine fibroids”. Results can be sorted by relevance or date. Of course, you can also change the search terms.

Hope you find this useful.

Now, if I can just track down 5 or 6 others…

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UPDATES: (August 12, 2006) Found another one. Under Google News, you will see Yahoo! News | Uterine Fibroids. Works the same way. Must thank Jeremy Zawodny for this. I stumbled upon his blog post on Yahoo! News Search via RSS. There’s even a Yahoo! News Search RSS URL Generator to make creating a specialized feed quick and painless.

(August 13, 2006) Just found out that I can set up customized PubMed RSS feeds. An updated listing of actual research articles. I’m excited. Look in the RSS feed section for PubMed | Uterine Fibroid. This feed is courtesy of AJ Cann who was kind enough to visit and leave the information in a comment. Thanks for your help. Want the latest news about microbiology (bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses) and have a bit of a sense of humor? Visit his blog.

Posted in Blogging, Fibroids, Health, Life, Medicine, News, Personal, References, Science, Site News, Women's Health. 4 Comments »

Just added a bunch of new categories

August 8, 2006 — EclecticGeek

In an attempt to make this blog more useful, I’ve added a lot of new categories and reorganized the others. Check out the “View The Geek’s Posts On:” section along the right side. Let me know if this is helpful.

I am about a third of the way through with reassigning my 80+ posts. Should be finished tomorrow. Remember, you can always find posts that interest you by using the search box (top right). Type in any topic and get my posts related to that topic. Enjoy.

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UPDATE: (August 9, 2006) Finally done. All posts have been assigned to the appropriate new categories.

Posted in Blogging, Personal, References, Site News. Comments Off

Is there such a thing as minor fibroid surgery?

June 3, 2006 — EclecticGeek

Still trying to post daily but I hit a stumbling block. Been a little down the past couple of days or so. Fortunately, I received inspiration from a comment left today on this blog. Words are powerful. It DOES help to know you aren’t alone.

On with the post…

During a previous visit (about 12 days ago), my doctor told me that my June 7th surgery to remove one or two of my fibroids required general anesthesia. Yep, I admit that I freaked out a bit after that news. Really thought it could be done locally. Noted the name of the procedure and decided I would eventually conduct an Internet search. Started to come to terms with the whole “being knocked out” thing and then, my June 1st pre-op appointment rolled around. In my constant quest for knowledge, I did that Internet search and visited the site RIGHT before the doctor’s appointment. Wanted to do so in case I had any questions.

Just a little note here about searching. My upcoming surgery involves D&C and hysteroscopic myomectomy. I did get information by just searching those terms but I got my best lead by hearing my doctor say he needed to schedule a Versapoint procedure.

Searched for “versapoint surgery” and BINGO, I found the exact site I needed. Versapoint is the name of the equipment so the site explains the features and benefits of the surgical tools. There’s also a labeling page that lists when the equipment should be used (indications), when it shouldn’t (contraindications), adverse events, and warnings/precautions. The site is filled with pictures. Since I love gadgets and gizmos, everything was cool.

Talked to my doctor. Did the “objective reporter” thing and asked the questions I had written. Jotted down the answers. Everything was still cool.

Eventually realized that I’M THE ONE HAVING THIS PROCEDURE. All of those really neat surgical tools are going into ME. As much as I would like to be Spock (all logical and rational), this was still happening to ME. I actually started crying. Not “boo-hoo” crying just silent tears that my brain could not control. I pulled it together but still felt out of it for a couple of days.

Now, you understand why that blog comment I mentioned earlier was so important. Words are powerful indeed.

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Related Posts:
Memories before my myomectomy
Memories directly after my myomectomy

Posted in Anesthesia, Blogging, Body, Doctors, Fibroids, Geek, Gynecologist, Health, Life, Medical Decisions, Medicine, Myomectomy, Personal, Random Notes, References, Surgery, Treatment, Women's Health, Work. 2 Comments »

The truth about uterine fibroids reported on NPR

May 31, 2006 — EclecticGeek

I found this radio piece about uterine fibroid tumors. Happy to see National Public Radio coverage. You can listen to the story using either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.

The Truth About Uterine Fibroids

News & Notes with Ed Gordon, May 29, 2006 · Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that can cause bleeding, cramping, swelling and miscarriage. Farai Chideya talks to gynecologist Hilda Hutcherson about diagnosing and treating uterine fibroids.

Here is the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5437130

The Geek’s summary:

The piece lasts about 6 minutes and discusses several treatment options for fibroids including laparoscopic and hysteroscopic procedures, and Uterine Artery Embolization. The gynecologist in this story considers hysterectomy a treatment of last resort. Let’s hope this is a trend that catches on.

Posted in Diagnosis, Doctors, Fibroids, Gynecologist, Health, Medical Decisions, Medicine, Minimally or Non-Invasive, Myomectomy, News, References, Surgery, Treatment, Uterine Fibroid Embolization, Women's Health. 2 Comments »
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