General Resources

Living with a chronic illness? Look here for information and non-litigation advocacy services.

Attorney (and Chronicbabe) Jennifer Jaff--founder of Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, Inc.--won't sue anybody for you. Sorry. But she will help you assert your employee rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, make sure your school accomodates students with chronic illnesses, and more. (This service runs on donations, so buy yourself some good karma by ponying up a few $ via the Paypal link.)

Café Chronique is a new social network for the Chronically Unique! This MySpace-style online community was created just for ChronicBabes by Kimberly Flynn, owner of Chronique Couture.

With customizable profile pages, member blogs, forums and more, the Café is a network every ChronicBabe should check out. (Editrix Jenni is an active member, too.) Grab a latte and pull up a chair…let’s meet at Café Chronique!

CarePlace is a networking site where folks with chronic illness can talk anonymously and get much-needed support.

There are dozens of communities so you can find a group that addresses your particular illness. Sign up now - it's free!

The Center for Medical Consumers is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to empower consumers to make sound health-care decisions.

The Center strives to provide scientifically valid information to enable consumers to actively participate in medical decisions that can have profound effects on their health, and to hold the field of medicine more accountable in terms of safety and quality of care. Check out their Health Facts newsletter for tons of good information on drugs, procedures and policies. Links point you to sites not included in many other resources.

Ever wanted to throw your phone at the wall after dealing for minutes with an automated system? No more! Get Human has your answer.

Credit cards, banks, finance institutions, automotive, big internet sites, pharmacies, manufacturers, software, travel, cable companies...you name it, Get Human has a direct line to a live human being to help you.

Globalhealthfacts.org provides facts and figures about diseases pervading the world population, including AIDS, malaria and TB.

Get information and stats broken down by disease or by region. Great information about some of the most serious health conditions in the world today.

Globalhealthreporting.org, a companion site to Globalhealthfacts.org, provides facts and figures about diseases worldwide - including AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

Facts, figures and reports on various worldwide health crises.

Grand Rounds is our favorite blog carnival. Check out weekly updates from a variety of contributors.

All sorts of blogging from health-related sites. Take a peek, too, at the ChronicBabe-hosted GR from July '06.

Both people with chronic illness and caregivers find information and emotional support here.

HealthTalk mainly covers ADHD, Alzheimer's/dementia, asthma, cancer, Crohn's disease, migraine, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Two of its coolest features: the many condition-specific blogs and the groovy free live broadcasts, like this one on the cognitive symptoms of MS.

Articles and commentary on "health care from the patient's point of view."

Looking for a well-informed, thought-provoking perspective on what it's like to be a patient in the American health care system? At Healthy Concerns, you'll find it.

Also known simply as The Kaiser Family Foundation, this clearinghouse has three major functions, according to its web site.

It produces policy analysis and research, operates a health news and information service, and develops/runs large-scale public health information campaigns worldwide.

Sounds like a great place to learn more about issues that matter to us all. If you need to start a little more locally, look at their slew of e-mail newsletter options or state-by-state breakdown of medical facts.

Medical Humanities is a blog, written by multiple contributors, about "the intersection between medicine and the arts."

Based in the UK, this blog provides insight into the health care system from across the pond, as well as general medical awareness and information. Take a peek!

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is held annually in September.

The weeklong event is a designated time, worldwide, in which people who live with chronic illness, those that love them, and organizations are encouraged to educate the general public, churches, health care professionals and government officials about the impact of living with a chronic illness that is not visually apparent. It's sponsored by Rest Ministries and HopeKeepers Magazine.

The mother of all women's health care books addresses self-care, relationships and sexuality, childbearing, and more.

Seems like just yesterday we were sneaking peeks at certain, ahem, diagrams in our cool aunt's copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves. Now there's a new (2005) edition and a companion web site, with tips on everything from multiple chemical sensitivities to emergency contraception.

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease tells us that chronic illness comprises 75 cents of every health care dollar spent in the U.S. So they've rallied a bunch of organizations and committed to making a change.

The organization has excellent resources to help you take action, because the more of us who speak up, the more likely the system is to change...and that we find cures for some of these conditions.

Tips on navigating the practicalities of illness: insurance, doctor visits, and more.

"If you don't stick up for you, who will?" the Professional Patient asks. Sharpen your sticking-up skills with info on working with your doctor, what to do if you can't get health insurance, and more.

What's the link between human health and the environment? This is the question The Collaborative on Health and the Environment works to answer.

Check out their newsletter archive to get caught up on the latest research and goings-on, and keep coming back for their free teleconferences, which address issues like breast cancer, fertility, autism and more.

Trusted.MD is a network of blogs about health, medicine and various conditions and diseases.

Tons of valuable information and links to blogs about health care, medicine and diagnoses. Use it as a resource for health news, or a launching pad to find other medical- and health-related blogs and Web sites.

Universal Health is a blog about broad health issues, including advocacy, safety, patients' rights and the health professions.

A great resource for health news, commentary and opinion.