London

This weekend James and I travelled to London primarily to attend the Angioma Alliance UK first annual forum conference. Hopefully they won’t mind me quoting their leaflet because I know quite a few people reach my website when searching for information on cavernous angiomas / cavernomas / cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) / cavernous haemangiomas (all names for the same condition).

Angioma Alliance UK is an organisation established by and for those affected with cavernous angiomas and their families. Their website www.angiomaalliance.org.uk provides information about cavernous angiomas, our current members and information on acquiring membership. Along with our parent organisation, Angioma Alliance based in Virginia, USA, we also provide updates on research.

If you would like more information about cavernomas I urge you to contact angioma alliance as they specialise in providing clear information about the illness and offer support to anyone affected by the illness.

It was a very informative day for James and me. We discovered lots of information that we didn’t have previously. A lot of the information on the web is contradictory and it was really good to hear from actual specialists who research the condition and treat it every day. There were talks on prognosis, standard surgery, genetics, gamma knife surgery and how a family should approach the issues related to a diagnosis.

It was all arranged by the Angioma Alliance UK Co-ordinator Ian Stuart and he has already announced the next annual Angioma Alliance UK forum in 2008. Here is a little pic of Ian doing his stuff.

In the evening after the forum we met up with Greg, Phoebe and Dudley for some dinner at Pizza Express. Afterward we went to Ed’s for some milkshakes. I had a peanut butter malt milkshake. It was nice but possibly a little bit too peanut buttery. The one James had was lovely - banana coffee.

We also saw some wonderful weather on the way to London. Here are a few pics of the weather and meeting people: