Trisha Torrey

Trisha Torrey (Patricia Torrey) is an American author who was misdiagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She has become a spokeswoman for patient empowerment and patient advocacy has written 3 books on the subjects, was cited as a CNN Hero and is featured in many media outlets.

History

The impetus for Torrey's work in patient empowerment and patient advocacy stemmed from her diagnosis in 2004 of Subcutaneous T-cell lymphoma when she was told she had only months to live and was encouraged to undergo chemotherapy to treat it. Through her own efforts, she proved she had been misdiagnosed.^[1] She was never treated for cancer and has never seen a recurrence of the original symptoms.

Shortly thereafter, she began her outreach to others encouraging them to begin taking responsibility for their own journeys through the healthcare system, warning them of potential, money based conflicts of interest, and teaching them to keep themselves safe.

The more she worked directly with patients and caregivers, understanding how sick and often exhausted they were, the more she realized they would need assistance from others who were experts in navigating the system. In response to those needs, in 2009 she founded both the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates,^[2] an organization to help individuals develop a career as patient advocates, and AdvoConnection,^[3] a directory of patient advocates which can be used by patients and caregivers to find the help they need.

She is the (former) About.com Expert in Patient Empowerment and Advocacy (2007 - 2014),^[4] and she speaks to audiences of patients, providers, employers and industry professionals about collaboration for better outcomes. She is an editor for the Journal of the Society for Participatory Medicine and a member of Regina Holliday's Walking Gallery where public art meets global healthcare.

Books

Torrey has written three books. Her first book, written for patients to help them improve their medical outcomes, was called You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes (How to Fix Them to Get the Health Care You Deserve) (ISBN 978-1934938881). It was first published in 2010 by Langdon Street Press, then revised and updated in 2013 (ISBN 978-0-9828014-2-0) and published by DiagKNOWsis Media.

The Health Advocate’s Basic Marketing Handbook was first published in 2010. In 2014 the Second Edition (ISBN 978-0-9828014-3-7) was published by DiagKNOWsis Media. It helps private health advocates build their practices and maximize their outreach to the patients and caregivers they serve.

Her third book was also written for patient advocates. The Health Advocate's Start and Grow Your Own Practice Handbook (ISBN 978-0982801413), was published in 2012 by DiagKNOWsis Media.

Torrey was also a contributor to the iconic Our Bodies, Ourselves, 40th Anniversary Edition published in 2011.

Media

Torrey has been featured in many publications and quoted widely by the media, including print, TV, radio and online. She maintains a master list of these citations at her official website ^[5]

Those citations include:

• CNN – Has your illness been misdiagnosed? ( September 2007)^[6]
• The Wall Street Journal - Your Doctor’s Business is Your Business (November 2007)^[7]
• NPR – Choosing a Doctor in the Digital Age (January 2008)^[8]
• Health Leader’s Media - Educate Patients to Improve Both Patient and Physician Satisfaction (April 2009^[9]
• US News and World Report – Crowd Sourcing Care: Getting Medical Advice on the Web from Other Patients (July 2009)^[10]
• USA Today - Your Health: Is a hospital visit in July bad for your well-being? (July 2010)^[11]
• MSNBC – July, the Worst Month to Be Hospitalized (July 2010)^[12]
• O Magazine - Someone on Your Side, a new prescription for navigating the medical maze. (August 2010)^[13]
• Scientific American – The Rise of the Empowered Patient (September 2010)^[14]
• Woman’s Day Magazine – The Importance of a Second Opinion (October 2010)^[15]
• Physician’s Practice – series of four articles Dealing with “Problem Patients” (May 2011)^[16]
• Fox Business – Self-Diagnosing Online: What You Need to Know (July 2011)^[17]
• WebMD - Love, Marriage and Health Insurance (August 2011)^[18]
• Modern Healthcare – Empowering the Patient (September 2011)^[19]
• USA Today - Refuse vaccines and risk dismissal by doctor (November 2011) ^[20]
• Women's Day - 6 Things your patient advocate wants you to know (March 2012 - print only)
• CNN and Health Magazine - Need a terrific doctor? (March 2012)^[21]
• Fox Business – How to Financially Prepare for a Long-Term Medical Treatment (July 2012)^[22]
• Redbook Magazine - How to Score a Doctor's Appointment - Fast (Feb 2013 - print only)
• US News & World Report – 5 Tips for a Smooth Doctor's Visit (April 2013)^[23]
• CNY Central – Patient advocate says St. Joseph's organ harvesting case is 'so wrong on so many levels' (July 2013)^[24]
• US News & World Report – How to Be an Empowered Patient (August 2013)^[25]
• Prevention Magazine (Australia) – The Rise of the Empowered Patient (September 2013)^[26]
• MedPage Today – Overdiagnosis, Pesky Patient Reviews, More (September 2013)^[27]
• CNN - Trusting her intuition led to two cancer diagnoses (December 2013)^[28]

Medical journal mentions

• Journal of Clinical Oncology (February 2011) Centralized Review Offers Promise for the Clinician, the Pathologist, and the Patient With Newly Diagnosed Lymphoma (Elaine S. Jaffe, MD)^[29]
• Perspectives in Clinical Research (January 2011) Patient advocacy groups: Need and opportunity in India ^[30] (Kunal Shah and Sunil Garg)
• Journal of Patient Safety (August 2011) The Partnership With Patients: A Call to Action for Leaders ^[31] (Charles R. Denham, MD)

References

External links

• Official website
• Every Patient's Advocate
• Patient Empowerment Expert at About.com
• DiagKNOWsis Media
• AdvoConnection Directory of Patient Advocates (US and Canada)
• Alliance of Professional Health Advocates (international membership)