Sensory overload! I’ve already completed my 15 days of self-quarantine and I’m ready to get out. Actually, I have been out a few times just to the grocery store and then back home. My family has been quarantined with me, with the exception…

The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research is partnering with the American Lung Association for its sixth annual effort to raise awareness about sarcoidosis and provide resources for patients, caregivers, and clinicians during Sarcoidosis Awareness Month in April, and specifically to address concerns in the midst of the…

National Sarcoidosis Awareness Month begins on April 1 without the fanfare of years past.  We can’t participate in walks. We can’t gather for events and fundraisers. And news cycles are focused on the global pandemic of a virus that attacks the lungs, not a rare disease that infiltrates…

Results of a Phase 1b/2a clinical study evaluating ATYR1923 in people with pulmonary sarcoidosis are likely to be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its developer, aTyr Pharma, announced. ATYR1923 is a first-in-class therapy being developed to possibly different types of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) — a…

I read a magazine article years ago shortly after my sarcoidosis diagnosis. It covered the topic of the “shoulds” in life. The article defined a “should” as an item such as good health, the ability to work a full-time job, having strong and supportive relationships, and being able…

After all of my efforts to remain germ-free I was reminded of a couple things this past week. The first is that hand soap and sanitizer don’t make me invincible. The second is that being homebound so much over the years while battling sarcoidosis  has given me a “particular…

This has been a rough week, to say the least. Last week, I lost one of my oldest aunts. She was my mother’s oldest sister and she meant a lot to me. She lived in Washington, D.C., and she let me live with her when I took a…

Boehringer Ingelheim‘s Ofev (nintedanib) has been approved in the U.S. as the first treatment for chronic fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) with a progressive phenotype. This approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes sarcoidosis, autoimmune ILDs, unclassifiable ILDs, chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis,…

Take a minute to think about what’s really important in your life. I find myself doing that more often than I used to. I often think about the things that mean the most to me like family, health, physical abilities, and friendships, but…