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Sarcoidosis support is available

2 min read

To the editor:

My name is Timothy J. McCarthy, and I suffer from a disease that 95 percent of you never heard of, sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a disease that affects all of the major organs in the body.

Granulomas form in different organs throughout the body, but most times, its in the lungs. When this happens, breathing becomes very difficult making the heart work harder and eventually the heart wears itself.

This was the case in two celebrities who died from sarcoidosis, actor/ comedian Bernie Mac and NFL Hall of famer Reggie White.

What causes the granulomas to start remain a mystery to the medical community.

Currently, there are well over 200,000 people in the United States with sarcoidosis.

Most people who have been diagnosed with sarcoidosis will live a relatively normal life.

Sarcoidosis is a painful disease, from the difficulty in breathing to the severe pain it can cause in the joints.

I am writing this letter because the number of people being diagnosed with sarcoidosis is growing everyday, and there is VERY LITTLE medical research being done to find a cure.

The month of April 2015 has been recognized nationwide as sarcoidosis awareness month.

Mayor Marni Sawicki has proclaimed April as sarcoidosis awareness month in the city of cape coral and Governor Rick Scott has proclaimed the same within the state of Florida.

If you have sarcoidosis, I would like to hear from you.

My email is:

Timmccarthy844@gmail.com,

Timothy.J. McCarthy

Cape Coral Sarcoidosis Association