Sarcoidosis Awareness Month approaching
To the editor:
April is Sarcoidosis Awareness Month. Most people don’t know what sarcoidosis is because they never heard of it, or don’t know anyone who has it.
Sarcoidosis or sarcoid, is a disease involving abnormal collections of inflammatory cell (granulomas) that form as nodules in multiple organs.
Most of the time, they form in the lungs or lymph nodes, but most any organ can be affected.
Sarcoid seems to be caused by infection or some other trigger that the person can be exposed to.
Most time, it clears up by itself without medication, but in a lot of cases, medical treatment is required and the condition becomes life threatening.
Generally, the mortality rate is 5 percent or less.
The symptoms of sarcoid are: shortness of breath, a cough that won’t go away, skin rashes, red bumps on the face, arms or shins that won’t go away, weight loss, or fatigue, night sweats, and fever, to name a few.
I was diagnosed with sarcoid in 1998, and I thought I went into remission, but several months ago it turned out my sarcoid came back with a vengeance.
If you experience any of the symptoms listed above, get tested.
At this point, there is no cure for sarcoid, but, we are hoping there will be soon.
In April, to celebrate Sarcoidosis awareness month, the Empire state Building will be lit in purple.
Thank you for your time in reading this.
Timothy J. McCarthy
Cape Coral
P.S. If you have sarcoid, please contact me at:
Timmccarthy844 @gmail.com