Columns

One thing I enjoy doing in my life is mentoring young people with sickle cell disease. I decided to become a mentor a few years ago in order to share my experiences and help others avoid the same mistakes I made while managing the disease. Interacting with each…

I was recently invited to attend a pharmaceutical networking event that focused on sickle cell disease. The event was hosted by Black Pharma, a nonprofit organization that promotes greater representation of Black professionals across the pharmaceutical industry. It was co-organized by the Sickle Cell Society, a U.K.-based…

Sickle cell disease doesn’t only affect people physically; it can also result in social stigma, which occurs in schools, workplaces, healthcare settings, and even within families. At the core of sickle cell stigma lies the term “sickler.” While the word can be used simply to refer to people…

Sometimes when we patients talk about the stigmas associated with sickle cell disease, I don’t think people fully grasp what we mean. I’ve written about some of the negative connotations about sickle cell patients expressed by people in the healthcare sector and society in general. An overarching…

Pain and anemia seem to be the loud hallmarks of sickle cell disease. Because many patients and caregivers prioritize addressing the challenges posed by these issues, they tend to overlook infections. But despite their quieter nature, infections pose a grave threat and stand as the leading cause…

There is something that some people do that bothers me when I tell them for the first time that I have sickle cell disease. I’ll introduce sickle cell disease into the conversation, and they’ll respond by telling me that they knew someone who died from the disease. They usually…

During a recent weekend, I was hanging out with my friends and catching up on life. One of my long-term guy friends mentioned he had become a blood donor and had been giving blood for several months. However, he couldn’t donate at his last session because of low…

Living with sickle cell disease presents unique challenges that can impact various aspects of one’s life, including romantic relationships. The experiences of those with sickle cell disease vary greatly, which affects how each of us approaches and maintains our relationships. In over three decades of living with the…

For those who are unfamiliar with my previous columns, I often write about a recurring theme: the importance of preventive action in the management of sickle cell disease. I am a staunch advocate of identifying health risks and doing what I can to prevent them. I take my…

Living with sickle cell disease for nearly 38 years has taken me through various phases: an initial phase of cluelessness about sickle cell complications, a phase marked by fear of those potential complications, and the current phase, in which I’ve managed to conquer that fear. During my childhood…