Onated funds to the ICA). “I read the letter my mother left me. She was so sad to go, in fact did not want to go, but she could see no other way. Part of the problem was that she was 65, and had undiagnosed IC for almost 20 years, but diagnosed just 4 years ago. What was frustrating to us was watching her go to doctor after doctor with little relief. She wasn’t depressed or mentally ill at the time she made her decision… Next to her bed was “The Final Exit by Derek Humphrey.” While the doctors failed her, Mr. Humphrey gave my mother a way to end the pain easily, effectively, and quickly. It was a relief to learn that she did not suffer and it did not take long… but what a sad end to a vibrant woman’s life. She was so very young for her age and it pains me to think of what IC took from her…” (survived by two daughters and two grandchildren). Although there is no data available on IC and suicide, IC can be a painful, incapacitating disease that must?Translational Andrology and Urology. All rights reserved.www.amepc.org/tauTransl Androl Urol 2015;4(5):491-Ratner. History of the ICAbe diagnosed early and treated aggressively, with pain medication if necessary, to avoid this outcome. The origins of the ICA’s Medical Advisory Board To our amazement, the very first urologist to contact the ICA did so before any TV stories aired or print media was published. Grannum Sant, M.D., from Tuft’s GW 4064 site University Medical Center, and the editor of this journal, sent a cover letter along with his CV, offering to help us in any way that he could. We were thrilled. Shortly afterwards, Phil Hanno, M.D., from University of PD-148515MedChemExpress PD-148515 Pennsylvania also contacted us, and based on a patient’s recommendation, came to meet with me in New York City, bringing two of his researchers. Many excellent ideas were generated from that meeting, and I was enormously grateful. Two weeks after this meeting, our interview on ABC’s Good Morning America aired live with both Dr. Hanno and me, and the ICA was off and running. Alan Wein, M.D., Chairman of Urology at University of Pennsylvania, was instrumental in moving our cause forward and opening many doors for us. In the beginning, since my field was orthopedic surgery and the focus on IC was so new, it would have been impossible for me to get an article published in a urology journal. So I submitted an editorial I had written to Dr. Wein, who added a brilliant introduction and conclusion, and wedged my editorial in the middle, without my name, entitled “Tell Her to Get a Urine Culture, Take Some of That Medicine I Prescribed a While Ago, and Call Me in a Few Days”, published in Neurourology and Urodynamics, 1985 (4). That one article opened the door for me to publish in urology journals, with the support and assistance of both Dr. Wein and Dr. Hanno. Other urologists who joined our cause early on included Kristene Whitmore (University of Pennsylvania, USA), Rob Moldwin (Long Island Jewish Hospital, USA) Christopher Payne (Stanford University Medical Center, USA), and Lowell Parsons and colleagues at UC San Diego, the only group in the U.S. to my knowledge who were researching IC before the ICA was formed. The ICA’s Medical Advisory Board grew from there. Currently, the ICA has an extensive referral list and outstanding urologists on its Medical Advisory Board that include specialists from other fields such as ob-gyn and pain management. “The ICA was and still is the only nonprofit health association in the United States solely dedicated.Onated funds to the ICA). “I read the letter my mother left me. She was so sad to go, in fact did not want to go, but she could see no other way. Part of the problem was that she was 65, and had undiagnosed IC for almost 20 years, but diagnosed just 4 years ago. What was frustrating to us was watching her go to doctor after doctor with little relief. She wasn’t depressed or mentally ill at the time she made her decision… Next to her bed was “The Final Exit by Derek Humphrey.” While the doctors failed her, Mr. Humphrey gave my mother a way to end the pain easily, effectively, and quickly. It was a relief to learn that she did not suffer and it did not take long… but what a sad end to a vibrant woman’s life. She was so very young for her age and it pains me to think of what IC took from her…” (survived by two daughters and two grandchildren). Although there is no data available on IC and suicide, IC can be a painful, incapacitating disease that must?Translational Andrology and Urology. All rights reserved.www.amepc.org/tauTransl Androl Urol 2015;4(5):491-Ratner. History of the ICAbe diagnosed early and treated aggressively, with pain medication if necessary, to avoid this outcome. The origins of the ICA’s Medical Advisory Board To our amazement, the very first urologist to contact the ICA did so before any TV stories aired or print media was published. Grannum Sant, M.D., from Tuft’s University Medical Center, and the editor of this journal, sent a cover letter along with his CV, offering to help us in any way that he could. We were thrilled. Shortly afterwards, Phil Hanno, M.D., from University of Pennsylvania also contacted us, and based on a patient’s recommendation, came to meet with me in New York City, bringing two of his researchers. Many excellent ideas were generated from that meeting, and I was enormously grateful. Two weeks after this meeting, our interview on ABC’s Good Morning America aired live with both Dr. Hanno and me, and the ICA was off and running. Alan Wein, M.D., Chairman of Urology at University of Pennsylvania, was instrumental in moving our cause forward and opening many doors for us. In the beginning, since my field was orthopedic surgery and the focus on IC was so new, it would have been impossible for me to get an article published in a urology journal. So I submitted an editorial I had written to Dr. Wein, who added a brilliant introduction and conclusion, and wedged my editorial in the middle, without my name, entitled “Tell Her to Get a Urine Culture, Take Some of That Medicine I Prescribed a While Ago, and Call Me in a Few Days”, published in Neurourology and Urodynamics, 1985 (4). That one article opened the door for me to publish in urology journals, with the support and assistance of both Dr. Wein and Dr. Hanno. Other urologists who joined our cause early on included Kristene Whitmore (University of Pennsylvania, USA), Rob Moldwin (Long Island Jewish Hospital, USA) Christopher Payne (Stanford University Medical Center, USA), and Lowell Parsons and colleagues at UC San Diego, the only group in the U.S. to my knowledge who were researching IC before the ICA was formed. The ICA’s Medical Advisory Board grew from there. Currently, the ICA has an extensive referral list and outstanding urologists on its Medical Advisory Board that include specialists from other fields such as ob-gyn and pain management. “The ICA was and still is the only nonprofit health association in the United States solely dedicated.
