I Am One in Eight!

National Infertility Awareness Week® (NIAW) is a movement that began in 1989. The goal of NIAW is to raise awareness about the disease of infertility and to encourage the public to understand their reproductive health. This movement is recognized the last week of April each year.

Infertility affects as many as one in eight couples of reproductive age which is equivalent to about 7.3 million Americans. My husband and I are one in eight couples that this disease has impacted. Many of you know that I went to the doctor last year at the urging of the Holy Spirit and I was initially diagnosed with PCOS (PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome) which is one of the leading causes of infertility. I was then diagnosed with ovarian cancer and as a result one of my ovaries and fallopian tubes were removed further impacting my fertility.

For many years women dealt with fertility issues in silence. Even though there was a rather large community, a uniting factor, a sisterhood if you will, they most likely never supported or even encouraged one another because it was taboo or too embarrassing for women to talk about their problems with infertility.

I started this blog to bring to light women’s health issues and concerns and to be a gathering place where women can talk about these things and I’m glad to have a platform where we can throw out those old ways of doing things. Now we can connect, provide resources and encourage one another.

LIVE!

If you knew your time on earth was almost up would you be able to say that you lived a great life or when your obituary is read can others confirm that you did live a great life or would they need to embellish a little? I often thought about this when I was diagnosed with cancer. I knew there were a lot of things I wanted to do and many things I felt I needed to accomplish. So, I made it a goal that I was going to “live” once I was well. There were business ideas I wanted to implement, certainly places I wanted to travel to and grudges that I hadn't even realized I was holding on to that I had to let go. I had to freely give to others, take control of my work-life balance, spend more time with friends and family and certainly, lose weight. To let go, to breathe and to live freely. These are the things I have committed to doing because even though I have always known my time on earth has an expiration date, the diagnosis truly reminded me and set things in overdrive for me.

Recently I learned that Daisy Lewellyn, a star on Bravo’s show, Blood, Sweat and Heels died due to a rare cancer of the liver. She was just 36 years old. She was diagnosed in 2014 with cancer of the bile ducts in the liver. In an interview she did in 2015 she said, "I'm not afraid to go to heaven, but I would like to stay on Earth if I can. If it's my time to go, then I can say that I had a great life."

Let Daisy be a reminder to us to live, to have a great life. Let's stop putting things off and begin doing and living. The first thing I did was to stop putting off starting this blog. I always knew I needed to tell my story with the goal and purpose to help someone else. I started living simply by writing out a list of things I always wanted to do and a list of places I wanted to travel. I have begun checking things off already and I’m so excited. LIVE!

National Sarcoidosis Awareness Month

If you have been following my blog for awhile you will know that I am using this platform to highlight my story, the story of others and diseases that can impact us all in some way. April is now upon us which means new beginnings, a fresh start and hopefully spring for some of you. If you are in Michigan like me it’s looking more like winter with temps in the 30s and of course, snow. April is one of my favorite months regardless of what’s going on outside. Spring is my favorite season and of course, it’s the month that I was born in. I’ve always enjoyed celebrating my birthday and the countdown to my big day each year and so on. However, after a cancer diagnosis it seems I look forward to it even more. It’s just a reminder that I am still here and that I beat the odds.

With that being said, I have come to learn that in order to help others beat those odds whether its cancer or any other disease, we must bring awareness to it. So each month if there is a disease that impacts women in any way we will highlight it here. April is designated as National Sarcoidosis Awareness month. What is it you ask? Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that can affect multiple organs in the body, but mostly affects the lungs and lymph nodes. Sarcoidosis can also affect the skin, eyes, joints, liver, kidney, heart and other organs. In the United States the disease affects African-Americans 10 to 17 times more often than Caucasians. Generally, Sarcoidosis affects people when they are between 20 and 40 years old. The disease affects both men and women, although women are more likely to have the disease. Unfortunately the cause of this disease is unknown.

The most common symptoms are difficulty breathing, persistent dry cough, chest pain and fatigue. Sarcoidosis can affect every system of the body, the most common signs for the affected systems:


· Tender reddish bumps or patches on the skin



· Red and teary eyes or blurred vision



· Swollen and painful joints



· Enlarged and tender lymph glands in the neck, armpits and groin



· Enlarged lymph glands in the chest and around the lungs



· Nasal stuffiness and hoarse voice



· Pain in the hands, feet or other bony area due to the formation of cysts



· Kidney stone formation



· Enlarged liver



· Development of abnormal or missed beats (arrhythmias), inflammation of the covering of the heart (pericarditis) or heart failure



· Nervous system effects includes hearing loss, meningitis, seizures or psychiatric disorders (for example, dementia, depression or psychosis)

There is no one test or sign or symptom which clearly points to Sarcoidosis, because nearly all of the symptoms and laboratory results in Sarcoidosis also occurs in other diseases. Are you guys noticing the pattern? Typically there are multiples symptoms for different diseases and they are hard to pinpoint and certainly diagnose because the symptoms could be related to anything. This is why it’s important to go to the doctor and get checkups often. It’s also important to document anything that is not normal for you so you can bring it to your doctor’s attention. 

The tools used to diagnosis Sarcoidosis: Chest x-rays – to look for cloudiness (pulmonary infiltrates) or swollen lymph glands

 

· CT Scan – to provide an even more detailed look at the lungs and lymph glands than provided by chest x-rays.

· Pulmonary function (breathing test) to measure how well the lungs are working,

· Bronchoscopy – involves passing a small tube (bronchoscopes) down the trachea (windpipe) and into the bronchial tubes (airways) of the lungs.

Treatments generally fall into two categories – maintenance of good health practices and drug treatment.

 

Good health practices include:

· Getting regular check-ups with your health care provider

· Eating a well balanced diet with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables

· Drink 8 to 10, 8 ounce glasses of water a day

· Getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night.

· Exercising regularly and managing and maintaining your weight.

· Stop Smoking!!!

Drug treatments are used to relieve symptoms and reduce the inflammation of the affected tissues. The oral corticosteroid, prednisone, is the most commonly used treatment.

 

Informaion found on the National Sarcoidisis Society Page: http://nationalsarcoidosisfriends.org/