Hopefully, the fake Sara / real Sara contrast did make you laugh. There is a world of difference, of course. :heart:

I think that you and Lisa are bringing up lots of good points, and even though I am now a blogger who has partnered with a pharma company, I am also still working out a lot of my own thoughts to what it all means to be involved with a pharma company. I’m glad that people are talking about it, too, because there isn’t really a manual out there for those of us who are blogging and are interested in becoming more involved as an advocate/spokesperson- I am figuring it out as I go along, as are most of us.

One of my hesitations in doing New Way RA initially was that I wasn’t sure what the reaction would be in the blogging community- would it affect my credibility, would I be seen as ‘selling out’, etc. I suppose the verdict is still out on that one, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I also knew that being on the program would take up a considerable amount of my time and energy, two things I value highly, and that as a ‘real’ blogger, I was bringing a certain amount of cache (or perceived cache) to their program. I felt I should be compensated for my time and my experience, even though I knew that could potentially alter my status as a patient blogger further.

One reason I felt ok about doing the program, and ultimately decided to give this it a go, was that I don’t take any of the drugs Centicor makes. If Amgen & Wyeth had approached me about getting involved, I’m not sure that I would have said yes, even if everything else had been exactly the same. For me, knowing that I don’t personally use any of the drugs Centicor makes (or profits on) felt like a way to preserve a personal boundary. And, to reiterate, I was never asked to write anything about New Way RA, have not received any payment for anything I have chosen to write about New Way RA, nor did they have any editorial say in what I wrote (nor do they now), so my words and opinions remain exactly that.

Ultimately, I’m interested in helping get more information out there about RA and putting a non-stereotypical face on RA, and I felt like the potential for good outweighed the murky, complicated issues in this instance.

I will say I didn’t realize (and perhaps should have done better homework) that in order to see the videos for New Way RA, one would have to give as much information as you do and consent to receive emails from Centicor….though there are ways around that, which I posted in the comment thread on my blog about it. I do believe that the team I worked with on New Way RA does sincerely want to create a platform for people to learn more about RA and become better advocates for their own health. I feel good about my involvement with the program, but am definitely interested to see how these issues continue to develop, what questions arise both personally and in the greater blogosphere, etc., even though I realize there could potentially be a backlash of sorts again me or my blog.

Thanks for raising the issues in such an organized and thoughtful post. I hope more people will discuss so that these complex issues and relationships can begin to be sorted out.