I think you may be too cynical. People in support groups can provide invaluable input. When you go to a doctor or surgeon, you are getting a professional's pe

I think you may be too cynical. People in support groups can provide invaluable input. When you go to a doctor or surgeon, you are getting a professional's perspective. When you talk to a support group, you are hearing from people who have actually experienced the results of that. For example, another family member had a major surgery. Prior to getting the surgery, they talked to specialists at some really good institutions about what they could offer. There were surgical and non-surgical options available. However, the questions that were asked came from being in contact with a support group. These were people who had had the various procedures, and who had had them at various institutions. Without that input, we would not have been able to ask good questions, or be very discerning about what these specialists were saying. Without the support group, we would have been lost in that process. EDIT. I should also add that at the facility where the surgery was done, we met several people who had gone to very highly esteemed hospitals for the same kind of thing, but were having to have a 2nd go at it at the facility we chose. That could have been us. We learned that even well credentialed people at highly respected places will perform procedures they have little experience with.