Rainbow at shoreline

The Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association, a 501(c)3 founded in 1985, exists to meet the needs of patients with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) or FM (Fibromyalgia), their families and loved ones. The Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association works to educate health-care providers and the general public regarding these severely-disabling physical illnesses. We also support patients and their families and advocate for more effective treatment and research.

Sunday Conversations - November 2024

“Your Doctors are Human Beings, Too!”

Sunday, November 17, 2024, 4 p.m. Eastern Time


Ruth H. Axelrod, MHSA, PhD

You may find it easy or challenging to relate to each of your doctors and other providers in ways that help you get what you need from them. Both doctor and patient contribute to that relationship, usually in different ways, based on our personalities, roles and expectations. This presentation and discussion aimed to offer you some tools that can help make that relationship both effective and fulfilling. The discussion was led by Ruth Axelrod, who drew on her career in healthcare and academia, as well as her personal health journey, to facilitate conversation.

Read more: Sunday Conversations - November 2024


2024 Annual Event: A Powerful Paradigm for Living with Chronic Illness - Recording Available

2024 Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Annual Event

Website FINAL Title Graphic Annual Event 2024

A Powerful Paradigm for Living with Chronic Illness 

Guest speaker: Patricia Fennell, MSW, LCSW-R, clinician, researcher, educator, and author

Recorded: October 26, 2024, 1:00 pm ET

Living with what was then commonly referred to as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (or its popular pseudonym, “Yuppie Flu”), Patricia had experienced the disbelief, dismissal, fear, and isolation familiar to many of us. Drawing from her professional experience, she developed strategies and solutions for “taking back her life,” and then shared them.

In her work as research scientist, clinician, and educator, Patricia describes a powerful paradigm for understanding how ME/CFS challenges one’s very sense of self and role in society and, more importantly, how to go about accepting and managing those challenges.

We spoke with Patricia about her experience applying her methods to her clients, her experience teaching other health professionals in a variety of disciplines to use these methods, and how things have changed in the last three decades for those living with ME/CFS.

If you find this recording, or others on our channel, helpful, please support MassME: https://massmecfs.org/giving

 

 

 

 

Notice about names

The Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association would like to clarify the use of the various acronyms for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Chronic Fatigue & Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) and  Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) on this site. When we generate our own articles on the illness, we will refer to it as ME/CFS, the term now generally used in the United States. When we are reporting on someone else’s report, we will use the term they use. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies, including the CDC, are currently using ME/CFS. 

Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association changed its name in July, 2018, to reflect this consensus.