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» LymeNet Flash » Questions and Discussion » Medical Questions » Brooke Landau of San Diego's News the EXPERIMENTAL treatment that saved her life

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Author Topic: Brooke Landau of San Diego's News the EXPERIMENTAL treatment that saved her life
Jellybelly
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A local reporter Brooke Landau who has personally struggled with Lyme for over 10 years will be on ABC Channel 10 News in San Diego today at 5:00 reporting on her struggles with her health and the medical challenges in getting care.

Apparently she will be discussing the experimental treatment that saved her life and may have cost her Dr. his license.

She recently contacted Jay/Groovy2.

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Jellybelly
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Here is her Bio:

You would never know it but behind Brooke Landau's striking presence is one of the most extraordinary and unprecedented survival stories in medical literature. Having survived congenital heart disease and open-heart surgery as a child, Brooke learned how to persevere from an early age. But her greatest challenge came in 1995 during a 10-year battle with Lyme Disease.

Brooke lost her ability to walk, partial sight, hearing, short-term memory and suffered through seven spinal taps, numerous surgeries and finally...an experimental cure that saved her life but may have cost her doctor his medical license. Her unbelievable triumph has been featured on the TODAY SHOW, DISCOVERY CHANNEL, EXTRA, FOX, and various affiliates nationwide.

Brooke comes to KGTV with over ten years of television experience. Most recently she served as Producer for the E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY and Feature Reporter for ESPN, interviewing dozens of celebrities and high profile people: Rudy Giuliani, Troy Aikman, Peyton & Eli Manning, Pete Rose, Woody Harrelson, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, and countless others.


From a very early age, Brooke possessed an inner strength and drive to succeed. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa, Brooke accepted a highly coveted management position with Coca-Cola beating out thousands of candidates nationwide.

After falling gravely ill, her unrelenting motivation landed her additional management positions at Fortune 500 Corporations: Nabisco, Timex, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox. And even while bedridden for over a year Brooke didn't give up. From a laptop in her bed, Brooke founded the Children's Alliance Network (C.A.N.) - a non-profit organization to help sick children nationwide.

Spotted in a store by a New York fashion designer, Brooke was offered a modeling contract and soon became a familiar figure at couture fashion shows walking the runway for world renown designers: Ralph Lauren, Nicole Miller, Gucci, Valentino and more.

After winning the Venus Swimwear International Model Search, Brooke showcased swimwear in print ads including Body Glove Swimwear and others.

Brooke made her move into broadcast television as Host of the 1997 Bob Marley Festival for MTV. But her entry into news was far from ordinary. Brooke pitched and co-produced her personal medical saga for Fox 11 News Los Angeles, helping to land the network the 2002 Emmy.

Brooke worked for KSWT/CBS in Yuma, Arizona as 6pm & 10pm Anchor and won awards for her reporting. She later spent time writing for KTLA/Los Angeles and producing for the E! True Hollywood Story and America's Most Wanted. Brooke's ability to ask the tough questions, combined with a unique sensitivity, was soon noted by ESPN executives who offered her the coveted Feature Reporter position for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Most recently Brooke has relocated to San Diego where she is thrilled to be a part of Traffic.com and the 10 News/KGTV team working as the station's Traffic Anchor. When she's not busy in front of the camera, Brooke is a National Spokesperson delivering Key Note and Motivational Speeches for the American Heart Association, Time for Lyme Inc., The Lyme Disease Association, Pfizer, Bayer, Coca-Cola, IBM, Tiffany's, Jet Blue, and many others to inspire and motivate audiences towards health and wellness. Brooke is a concert violinist and pianist of thirteen years.

These days, you'll also find her salsa dancing wherever she hears the music!

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Vermont_Lymie
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What is the 'experimental' treatment -- long term antibiotics?
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CaliforniaLyme
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I think so*)!!! There's a photo of Brooke on the Under Our Skin Faces Of Lyme webpage- here-

http://www.openeyepictures.com/underourskin/uos_faces.html

She is to the right of Amy Tan, the top upper right hand corner- she looks nice- and when you run the cursor over her face it has a quote from her about being paralyzed*)!*)!

Coolness!!! Hope it gets picked up and reaired all over CA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------
There is no wealth but life.
-John Ruskin

All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer

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WildCondor
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She's awesome!

[ 15. August 2007, 03:28 PM: Message edited by: WildCondor ]

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WildCondor
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They are likely referring to our HBOT treatment. Hyperbaric is considered experimental my much of the medical community.
Brooke and I both did it and had excellent results. [Smile]

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Lymetoo
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I read an article which stated that she had the IV abx running continuously in a port.

--------------------
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Opinions, not medical advice!

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Jill E.
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She spoke at our new support group and I had the pleasure of being part of a newspaper article that profiled her and two of us.

It was a port with IV antibiotics, plus hyperbaric, yet she also had remained on many oral meds/supplements for years and is still dealing with heavy metals.

She is awe-inspiring. Whenever I see her on our local Channel 10, doing the traffic reporting on camera, I know how hard it must be for her, but she is flawless.

Jill

--------------------
If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me?

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WildCondor
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Yes, continuous IV antibiotics with monoplace hyperbaric oxygen therapy is what we both did. With continuous IV antibiotics you wear a pump on your waist with a little medicine ball containing the antibiotics, and it pumps into your port 24 hours per day.

[hi]

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wrotek
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Will soeone record it and put online please ? When does it start ?
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wrotek
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http://www.canlyme.com/landau2004.html

quote:
Treatment consisted of pumping high doses of antibiotics into her heart for 24-hours a day for two months. She also underwent 30 days of treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
quote:
Since the treatment, Landau considers herself almost cured. The only symptom left is the headaches.

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oxygenbabe
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In other words, she had a port or picc line (probably a picc line) and she did hyperbaric. Really not all that experimental these days [Smile] . I remember reading she was on tons of pain meds too and had to slowly come off them.
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sunnymalibu
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wrotek quoted

" Treatment consisted of pumping high doses of antibiotics into her heart for 24-hours a day for two months. She also underwent 30 days of treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber."

What does 30 days of treatment in a hypperbaric oxygen chamber mean? 30 days in a row for an hour?
Antibiotics in to her heart? What does that mean?

Thanks!

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sunnymalibu

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wrotek
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http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2005/01/30/features/lifestyles/c7fe9f924251dabf86256f9500704961.txt

quote:
A tube was inserted into her heart, connected to a pump fastened around her waist. Antibiotics were pumped into her heart for 2 1/2 months before she climbed into a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for 30 days.

"The theory was by oxygenating my tissues, medication would more effectively permeate my body. At the end of 30 days, my hearing and vision returned, my memory returned and the pain in my joints was gone. It cured me," Landau maintains.


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buckfever
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Sounds like a very affective treatment to me ! Think that my ins . co. will mind paying for that?

Suuuuure . They really should as I bet in the long run it would save them a ton of money !

they have no problem paying for MRI's,stress tests , spinal taps, muscle biopsees , ultra sounds , etc. , etc.! I've had all of these more than once !

But think they would reemberse me my $1000.oo Igenix tests , nope .

I even told them I'd like to save them some money , just treat me for whats wrong , useless!!!! [bonk]

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sunnymalibu
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wrotek-thanks for posting the link to your quotes.

I wonder how much that therapy cost? Unfortunately the doctor who provided her with this therapy, and gave her her life back lost their license. How ironic, and unfair is that?
I cetainly hope it will be re-instated!

--------------------
sunnymalibu

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Lymetoo
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by sunnymalibu:


" Treatment consisted of pumping high doses of antibiotics into her heart for 24-hours a day for two months.

That is the difference!

--------------------
--Lymetutu--
Opinions, not medical advice!

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Jellybelly
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Oh good, I thought gosh I'm dumb.....antibiotics are still considered experimental? I guess they are in a way. But hyperbaric was part of her treatment, I would love to talk to her about that. I just spoke with my doc a few weeks ago wanting to do that.

I am taping the report tonight but it is going onto my DVR. Is there a way I can record it on my computer?? People watch TV on their computers all the time.

I have an entertainment package on my computer, but have not a clue on how to use it yet. If someone can tell me what to do, I could try.

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Jill E.
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The San Diego Channel 10 (ABC) news website is www.10news.com - most likely tomorrow they will have a link with video of the story.

Here is the link to the recent San Diego newspaper article about Brooke and us, and our new support group:

http://thecoastnews.com/articles/3126/

Jill

--------------------
If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me?

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wrotek
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I wonder which part was not approved by FDA , HBOT or antibiotics into heart.
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Parisa
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They did a nice job. A little short of course but still very good!
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Julz
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Did she stay in a HBOT for 30 days? Or went in once a day for 30 days straight? How long each time?
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Lymetoo
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quote:
Originally posted by wrotek:
I wonder which part was not approved by FDA , HBOT or antibiotics into heart.

I would say it's the CONTINUOUS IV feed that is different. [am I sounding like a broken record??]

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Opinions, not medical advice!

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bettyg
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quote:
Originally posted by Jill E.:

The San Diego Channel 10 (ABC) news website is www.10news.com - most likely tomorrow they will have a link with video of the story.

Here is the link to the recent San Diego newspaper article about Brooke and us, and our new support group:

http://thecoastnews.com/articles/3126/

Jill

since i could not see it nor read it since it was in timesnewroman, i copied it here for me/others with LOW vision to read and enjoy [Big Grin]


Group raises awareness of Lyme disease

July 20, 2007

By Jeff O'Brien
Reporter

CARMEL VALLEY --

Twelve years ago, Brooke Landau was a young college grad on her way up the corporate ladder. One evening after dinner, she laid down for bed just as she would on any other night.

The next morning, she couldn't move her body from the waist up. It was the beginning of a 12-year battle. ``I lost a quarter of my body weight and developed spinal meningitis and gall stones,'' Landau said. ``I had horrible headaches that lasted every second of every day for 12 years.''

Landau, who recently recovered from her ordeal and is now the traffic anchor for Channel 10 News San Diego, was the guest speaker at the latest meeting of the San Diego Lyme Disease Support Group on July 7. About 50 people gathered for the meeting at the Carmel Valley Library.

The group is striving to provide support for those in San Diego suffering from Lyme disease, but it is also aiming to shed light on one of the most misunderstood diseases in America.

Lyme disease, which is transmitted by ticks when they bite into human flesh, wreaks havoc on the body's muscles and nervous system.

A microscopic bacteria within the insect's saliva burrows into the body and finds its way into the brain. Victims are often bitten while hiking or in the outdoors, but ticks can also be transported by animals such as deer, rodents or pets.

According to the support group's founder, San Diego resident Maritza Padgett, the common notion that Lyme disease only exists on the East Coast is a gross misconception. Her daughter, Elyse, 15, was bitten by a tick in July of last year during a camping trip in Kern County.

`` She couldn't walk for several months and lost most of her eyesight,'' Maritza Padgett said. ``We went to 16 different doctors over the course of nine months, and they could not figure it out.''


According to Wayne Padgett, Maritza Padgett's husband, an exhaustive search finally led them to Dr. Therese Yang, who is based in Santee and is the only Lyme disease specialist in San Diego County.


Their daughter is now on the road to recovery. But the Padgetts are hoping to prevent other families from going through the medical roundabout that result in prolonged pain and suffering.

Although Lyme disease is curable through antibiotics, early detection is critical.

``There are 210,000 cases of Lyme disease diagnosed every year, but less than 30,000 of those are reported,'' Landau said. ``This is the fastest-growing infectious disease in the United States. It's growing at a rate four times faster than HIV.''


Although she admits there has been progress, Landau attributes the continuing lack of proper care to inadequate government funding and awareness.

She urged anybody who goes into the outdoors to wear long pants and long socks, and to always inspect the body for ticks.

But the threat of ticks is not just limited to dirt trails and back roads.


Jill Easton, a Carlsbad resident and member of the support group, was bitten three years ago across the street from Aviara Oaks Middle School.


``The head of infectious diseases at Scripps Ranch told me he hadn't seen Lyme disease in San Diego over the past 30 years,'' Easton said. ``I had to diagnose myself and get specialized treatment up in Northern California.''

The lack of timely care has resulted in chronic symptoms that will probably last the rest of Easton's life. She suffers from a burning sensation throughout her entire body, joint pain in the knees, muscle pain in the legs and blurred vision.

Easton said the impact of the support group, which has only been in existence for the past six months, has been monumental. ``Our group provides tremendous emotional and psychological support.''


During her ordeal, Landau went through seven spinal taps and two surgeries with no improvements.

She said she finally met a doctor who used an experimental procedure that pumped antibiotics directly into her heart for two-and-a-half months, which cured many of her symptoms.

``Unfortunately, as a result of that, this doctor lost his license because the procedure wasn't FDA approved,'' Landau said.

Landau showed the audience a plastic bag that was filled with pills, which she had to take every day for 12 straight years. ``We will all survive this somehow, and we will beat this,'' Landau said, holding up the bag. ``Because this is not our future.''


For more information on the San Diego Lyme Disease Support Group, contact Maritza Padgett at [email protected].


For more information about Lyme disease in California, visit the California Lyme Disease Association Web site at www.lymedisease.org.
Contact Reporter Jeff O'Brien via e-mail at [email protected].


wonderful, informative article! jill, thanks for sharing the link; enjoyed reading your story too! glad your support group has filled a need for each of you besides lymenet! [group hug]

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Boomerang
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What a great read! Very encouraging. Hubby is still doing HBOT, so I was glad to read this article.

Thanks a bunch.

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tabbytamer
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This was an excellent report!

Brooke Landau's Channel 10 interview video

If for some reason the video link doesn't work, it can be found at www.10news.com

Then click on the left on "Local News" and select the story "10 News' Brooke Landau Shares Story of Lyme Disease Battle"

Thanks to Brooke Landau. She did an excellent job with getting out all the right info [Big Grin]

The only thing I would add would be to emphasize that her story of "chronic" Lyme and aggressive treatment is not as rare as reported by Channel 10.

Maybe if many of us write to the station to emphasize how extensive treatment is for many of us (whose diagnosis was missed by dozens of doctors), perhaps the station will do more in-depth reporting on Lyme.

10 Viewer Talkback

At that page, scroll towards the bottom left for the 10 Viewer Talkback icon, then click to compose an e-mail, then send.

--------------------
Tabby

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California Lyme support group

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