Pay It Forward: Just One Story Can Change a Life

Trusera Launches "Just One" Series

News Facts:

-- Trusera, the online health network for finding and sharing real-world health experiences, announces the launch of their "Just One" video series profiling six families (including children) dealing with Breast Cancer, Autism, Asperger's and Lyme disease.

-- Beginning October 8th, a new story will be introduced weekly. Participants describe the challenges of their health journey and the one person who has helped them, offer tips on changes they would make in the world based on their experience, and share insights into what gives them strength.

-- Pay It Forward: the purpose of the series is to encourage more people to share their health experiences and insights in order to benefit those facing similar life and health issues.

Market Facts:

-- 160 million adults in the U.S. have gone online for health information. Represents a 37% increase in the last two years. (Source: HarrisInteractive Poll, July 2007)

-- 8 out of 10 Internet users go online for health information. (Source: Pew Research Study "Online Health Search" 2006)

-- Over 113 million people use the web regularly for health information and advice. More than 80% of Internet users have searched for health answers. 30% of chronic patients feel overwhelmed by online info. (Source: Pew Research Study "Online Health Search" 2006)

-- More than 1.2 billion people visited a doctor during 2005. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC)

-- The average doctor's visit in the U.S. is less than twenty minutes. (Source: Pew Research)

-- 69% of health consumers rely more on themselves and their own process than on their doctors in making health decisions. (Source: Deloitte 2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers)

-- In 2004 (the most recent year data is published) 186,722 women and 1,815 men were diagnosed with Breast Cancer in the United States. (Source: CDC)

-- 1 in 150 8-year-old children in multiple areas of the United States had an Autism Related Disorder. (Source: CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network 2007 report)

The Just One Series Features:

-- Michele Hyra, a 42 year-old married mother of two young girls was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer and Bone Metastasis and given 11 months to live. She has suffered deep bouts of depression and yet as an advocate, considers her cancer "a gift."

-- Elaine Powell, a 43 year-old single mother of two whose son Maxfield is eight years old and has Asperger Syndrome. Elaine suspects her 14 year-old daughter, Jade, also is on the autism spectrum but she has never been diagnosed. Elaine, who has Graves' Disease, was recently laid off and does not have health insurance.

-- Lauri Perry, a 46 year-old married mother of two who formerly worked as a paralegal at Microsoft. Her nine year-old son, Clark, has Autism. Despite being well connected and resourced, Lauri battled depression and feelings of isolation. She finds daily courage to fight Clark's disorder by trusting her intuition, connecting with other families and calls communication her "weapon."

-- Bill and Jo Krueger. Bill is a 50 year-old retired professional baseball player and an analyst for Fox Sports Northwest. He and his wife Jo have a 15 year-old daughter, Chanel, who was diagnosed with Autism at age three but recovered after years of daily speech and occupational therapies. Chanel did not speak in complete sentences until she was ten years old, but is now an honors student and gave her 8th grade graduation speech to an audience of 800.

-- Stephanie and Kim Lavarello, 39 year-old adopted, fraternal twins and breast cancer survivors. After an extensive search, they discovered that their birth mother and grandmother had died of breast cancer. They have both had double mastectomies and hysterectomies, and are single and navigating the dating scene.

-- Trusera founder Keith Schorsch and his wife Jennifer describe Keith's battle with Lyme Disease and the toll it took on their family as they navigated the health care system in search of an accurate diagnosis, received conflicting and erroneous medical opinions and struggled to make critical decisions for their future.

Video Information

-- Three to six minute video on each family available on www.trusera.com and YouTube. Comprehensive written stories and additional background on www.trusera.com

Quotes

"'Just One' is designed to encourage people to share their health stories in order to help those who may be facing a similar situation," says Keith Schorsch. "As I know firsthand, people who have been through a health experience have a wealth of knowledge to offer. The missing link for today's health consumer is the ability to connect with someone who's been through it." He continues, "After seeing eleven doctors with no conclusive diagnosis, it was one call from a friend that saved my life. I felt strongly that moving ahead in one's health journey needn't be so hard. My experience at Amazon made me think; imagine if we could harness the wisdom of thousands and thousands of individual health stories and present that in a useful and credible way. Our goal is to make finding relevant health information as easy as buying a book online." Keith Schorsch, founder and CEO

"I believe I have been given this disease as kind of a gift. I don't believe that I am special. I think that I have a responsibility to make something out of this that is positive. And I think that's for my kids, because...I won't have my girls become victims of breast cancer. My husband can't become a victim of breast cancer. I can't have it." Michele Hyra

"It's taken me five years to realize that it's okay to grieve. I was grieving at the same time I was trying to learn and help my son. It was a really dark period for me as a mom. As a parent there is nothing worse...you've had all these hopes and dreams for your child and then someone says your child has Autism. And what I realized from the books that I've read, at night after you've dealt with your child who is morphing into this different person you raised from 0 to 4 years old, is that your child may grow up and never marry, may never have friends, may not have children. That was the worst thing...the idea of him being lonely and what would happen to him when we passed away." Lauri Perry

Contact Kat Spellman at 206.860.2838 or at katspellman@qwest.net to arrange interviews or for additional information.

About Trusera

Led by former Amazon executive Keith Schorsch, Trusera is a Seattle-based company founded in 2007. The company vision is inspired by Keith's own struggle with Lyme disease. After meeting with eleven doctors, it was one phone call from a friend that finally led to his diagnosis and saved his life. Trusera (www.trusera.com) is an online health network where you can find and share real-world experiences with others who've been there. The company is made up of experienced technology pioneers who share a passion for helping consumers take control of their health. Trusera is backed by a group of notable angel investors with executive-level experience at companies like Expedia, Amazon and Microsoft.

Links and Images

-- Trusera

-- Trusera's Just One page

Embedded Video Available