The Ann Theodore Foundation and the Milken Institute have awarded more than $3 million to six research teams nationwide to study sarcoidosis topics ranging from risk factors for the poorly understood disease to its underlying mechanisms. The Ann Theodore Foundation Breakthrough Sarcoidosis Initiative grant program seeks to understand…

If there’s anything last week’s Emmy Awards reaffirmed for me, it’s that I love Lizzo. More than her music, I adore her as a person and admire what she represents. When her show, “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” won Outstanding Competition Program, the “About Damn Time” singer gave…

Happy anniversary to me! On Sept. 24, 2014, I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. These eight years have been quite amazing, though I previously thought the date had been closer to nine years. Regardless, when I think of where my life was at that time — in Maryland, struggling to…

The other day, I was heading home from my intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion, grateful to be back on schedule after my recent insurance delay. I was mindlessly singing along to whatever was playing on the radio, which turned out to be Matchbox Twenty — and I realized that…

Researchers have developed a highly selective and sensitive test to detect neuropilin-2 (NRP2), the therapeutic protein target of efzofitimod, an experimental treatment for pulmonary sarcoidosis by aTyr Pharma. Using immunohistochemical (IHC) detection methods, the new antibody-based tool — created in collaboration with Michael Muders, at the University Hospital…

Hope. “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. You get busy living, or get busy dying.” Recently, I’ve found myself watching and rewatching one of my favorite movies, “The Shawshank Redemption,” starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. The movie chronicles their friendship at a fictional…

Last week, my older brother celebrated his 60th birthday. Wow, 60! My brother and I are two years apart and have a very close relationship. My mother was a single parent and it was always the three of us, so we had no choice in liking each other. He had…

As I type this from my living room, all I can think about is that I shouldn’t be here. I should be at the hospital getting my weekly infusion. I should be laughing with the nurses, still amazed at how much easier it’s been since I had a port-a-cath inserted…

The other day I was surprised by a knock on my door, and even more surprised to hear the response when I asked who it was. It sounded like he said Jamaal Bowman — my congressman. It even sounded like his voice, which I recognized from countless interviews,…

This week marks my one-year anniversary as a columnist for Sarcoidosis News. I once read that we tend to underestimate how much our lives can change in a decade, but overestimate the potential change in a year. With all due respect, that person hasn’t seen my life! There…