Awareness

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month!  Do you know what that means??  It’s time to take action in the fight against pediatric cancer!  This month, I want to share some important statistics and resources about childhood cancer and how to become an advocate for all of the kids who have, …

Hello my friends! I am writing this next article (finally, I know) on needing a transplant because it is a question I get often, usually after I have scared someone with liver disease by telling my story. (whoa Nelly, hold your horses, I was sick for many years before being …

Fibromyalgia, in a large part, now controls my life. In fact, it gives chronic pain to more than 10 million Americans, and 3-6% of the global population (most of whom are women, but can also effect men and children).  Fibromyalgia is also common in families, and my family is no …

Click to read part 2 The last of two Hepatitis in my trilogy may surprise you. The first one, Alcoholic Steatohepatitis is a syndrome of progressive inflammatory liver injury caused by long-term or heavy alcohol abuse and is one of the leading causes of cirrhosis in America. This form of …

A previvor by definition is a word used describe those who have a higher risk for cancer due to close family history or due to certain genetic mutations (like the BRCA1 or BRCA2), but do not have a cancer diagnosis. According the non-profit organization FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer) …

National Endometriosis Awareness Month is upon us once again! If you are anything like me, you may wonder, what on earth does it mean and how can I be a part of it? Granted it is not like October where every venue you enter is flooded with pink and where …

Click to read part 1 Hepatitis C (HCV) — My nemesis. Though only 20-30% of HCV patients develop cirrhosis of the liver, it is one of the leading causes of liver transplants in America. There are a small percentage of patients that can clear the virus on their own within …

Do you dread that most personal of check-ups, the Cervical Pap Smear? It is no secret – for most women, it is one of the most dreaded routine checks they will go through. There is always the temptation to put it off, but please think twice before postponing that appointment! …

Fibromyalgia breaks apart lives.  This we know. The lives of men with Fibromyalgia are affected in a different, but equally severe manner when compared to women with the syndrome.  As an illness that affects less than 10% of men in United States, Fibromyalgia leaves many males feeling especially inadequate about …

I’ve mentioned before that Rheumatoid Arthritis is a systemic disease. This means that it affects much more than just the joints. It affects major organ systems as well. Nowhere is this more clear than in the correlation between RA and incidences of heart disease. Scientists are still unsure about why …