I began the year with good intentions. I simply wanted to invite more fun and less stress into my life. The first sign that my intentions for 2020 were going awry occurred on a work-related road trip with my husband. I awoke the first morning away with a pounding…

I have a rare health condition called sarcoidosis, which causes extreme fatigue, joint pain, and difficulty breathing. It can affect all of the major organs, including the lungs, heart, eyes, and skin. Sarcoidosis affects about five in 100,000 Caucasians in the U.S. For African Americans, that number jumps…

When I stumbled upon sarcoidosis in 2002, I was told it was rare for it to cause chronic health issues. What I wasn’t told was that the disease was rare. I haven’t come face to face with a single person with sarcoidosis since my diagnosis. Nor have I met…

Researchers have discovered that patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis have an imbalance in two subsets of immune cells, namely B-cells and follicular T-helper cells — findings that support the potential role of autoimmune mechanisms in sarcoidosis development. The study, “Imbalance in B cell and T Follicular Helper…

I’ve had an unusually difficult week. To put it plainly, the events of this past week have caused me great concern. For the most part, I’d been feeling pretty good since the start of the year, and I had several medical tests. But lately,…

The arthritis medicine Xeljanz (tofacitinib) may be an effective therapeutic alternative to conventional medications for the treatment of multiorgan sarcoidosis. This finding was described in the study, “Treatment of Multiorgan Sarcoidosis With Tofacitinib,” published in the journal ACR Open Rheumatology. Sarcoidosis, an inflammatory condition…

In 2003, I lost my mother suddenly. I still remember the day like it was yesterday. I had just returned to work after a break following an outpatient medical procedure my mom had accompanied me to. Before I left my job…

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) Foundation Research Program and the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) have awarded a Foundation Partner Grant to Nicholas Arger, MD, at the University of California San Francisco, to study the role of a specific population of immune cells in sarcoidosis-related…

The first month of the year has been an eventful one for me, to say the least. I spent much of January taking tests to evaluate my current health status and visiting the various doctors on my team. It has been a busy month for my wife, too,…

I miss traveling. Because of sarcoidosis, sleep difficulties, equilibrium challenges, pain, and constant fatigue must be considered. Other types of travel are no longer feasible, so I mostly stick with driving short distances by car. As I mentioned in a previous column, even visiting family during the holidays…