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Jen Brea's TED Talk (2017)

What happens when you have a disease doctors can't diagnose?

Full Talk below. Presentation in 2017
Available with subtitles in 36 languages.

Transcripts are available in English and 35 other languages.

Speaker information

Duration: 17mins : Over 2 million views


Synopsis

Five years ago, TED Fellow Jennifer Brea became progressively ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating illness that severely impairs normal activities and on bad days makes even the rustling of bed sheets unbearable. In this poignant talk, Brea describes the obstacles she's encountered in seeking treatment for her condition, whose root causes and physical effects we don't fully understand, as well as her mission to document through film the lives of patients that medicine struggles to treat.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.

©TED Talk, US 2017
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Last edited: 19 November, 2020