" I first became concerned about my vision when I couldn't get my glasses to work and I found myself saying 'I don't think they know how to make glasses any more,'" says Mrs. Jane Rees. But when she saw her ophthalmologist, Brooks Crawford, MD, in 1997, he found that she had signs of macular degeneration, and referred Mrs. Rees to retina specialist Alex Irvine, MD, and his associate, Robert Bhisitkul, MD, PhD, at UCSF.

Mrs. Jane Rees

Mrs. Rees writes a weekly column from San Francisco for Japan Times, the leading English daily in Japan, and she leads an active life. She relies upon her vision.

"Dr. Bhisitkul says he is very proud of my response to laser treatment and the newest treatment, Photodynamic Therapy, which has arrested the macular degeneration for over five years," says Mrs. Rees. "I notice some fogginess if I close my left eye, and some color changes, but I can still read and see well at a distance.

"I think my lucky stars for Dr. Bhisitkul and Dr. Irvine," says Mrs. Rees. "I couldn't be more grateful for their meticulous care."