“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7 My issues with pulmonary sarcoidosis keep me focused on living each day as productively as possible. Some days are tolerable; other days are harder. But each day is a blessing that shouldn’t be wasted…

My husband and I just celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. And our 18th. And our 13th, and our eighth, and our third. While every year is significant, we’ve made it a tradition to get married again every five years, with a new location and theme each time. From Las Vegas…

Only about half of sarcoidosis patients showing signs of muscle disease, or myopathy, have the small clumps of immune cells in their muscles that characterize sarcoidosis, a study showed. When these clumps, called granulomas, weren’t present with muscle symptoms, myopathy was most often linked to inclusion body myositis (IBM),…

Motivation comes at the strangest times. For the past few weeks, something has been bugging me. At first, I thought I was just feeling down due to the cold weather and early nightfall. But the more I tried to ignore what I was feeling, the more “blah” I felt.

In advance of Sarcoidosis Awareness Month in April, the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) and aTyr Pharma will hold a virtual town hall about sarcoidosis and considerations for transitioning from standard corticosteroids to new therapies. The meeting, which is open to anyone, will be held online at…

As I stared into my closet this morning, a bright green shirt called out to me. It is St. Patrick’s week, after all, and I knew it would make the two Irish nursing assistants at the infusion center smile. When I pulled it out of the closet, the design seemed…

People with pulmonary sarcoidosis believe earlier referrals to specialists could improve the diagnostic process and call for new treatment approaches leading to a better quality of life, according to findings from a discussion with patients from six countries. They also questioned the “concept of remission” in a multiorgan disease…

The Lung Allocation Score (LAS) system, which is used to prioritize patients awaiting lung transplant, may not accurately reflect disease severity risks for people with pulmonary sarcoidosis, a new study reports. Results showed that several factors accounted for in the LAS remain significant predictors of mortality for patients on…

Researchers have uncovered a network of abnormally activated immune cells and fibroblasts — the primary active cell of connective tissue — within granulomas, the clumps of cells that cause sarcoidosis. The key players in granuloma formation include metabolically reprogrammed immune macrophages, immune T-helper (Th) cells producing pro-inflammatory molecules, and…

When I was diagnosed with “some kind of arthritis, probably autoimmune” in 2011, I wanted to learn all I could. After years of being dismissed and disregarded by doctors because I “looked fine,” even this nondiagnosis was a big step for me. It was validation, after all those years,…