Whenever I’m asked to list the symptoms of sickle cell disease (SCD), I am always confused about where to begin. The condition is fundamentally a blood disorder, and every organ needs a steady supply of blood to survive. As a result, SCD can affect virtually any part of the…
As a medical professional living with sickle cell anemia, I’ve chosen to dedicate myself to sickle cell advocacy and education. On this journey, I’ve realized a lot of people cannot distinguish between sickle cell disease and sickle cell anemia, including some health professionals. Today I’m using my platform to…
World Sickle Cell Day took place on June 19, and one of my experiences that day prompted me to write about what it means to me. That day, I saw an ongoing debate by sickle cell warriors regarding the significance of the day and wanted to weigh in. On one…
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a dynamic condition that affects people differently. Its symptoms and complications are evident in some patients from childhood, while in others, it may be silent or asymptomatic. There is a common misconception that every child who lacks obvious symptoms or has an “asymptomatic”…
Malaria remains one of the most common triggers of sickle cell crises in patients living in malaria-endemic regions, while sickle cell disease (SCD) also predisposes patients to frequent malaria infection. As a result, malaria prevention has become one of the mainstays of SCD management in these areas. Malaria…
Sickle cell habitus, the distinct physical features of some people with sickle cell disease, are typically associated with patients who have more severe forms of the disease, such as sickle cell anemia. But the severity of sickle cell disease can vary greatly from one patient to another because of…
While I’ve been a sickle cell disease (SCD) advocate for more than two decades, I only seriously committed to this work after experiencing one of my worst complications: a case of avascular necrosis, which causes the death of blood tissue. It left me bedridden for…
Several weeks ago, when news of the first sickle cell disease patient to be cured by gene therapy went viral online, I completely ignored it because I wasn’t interested. As a sickle cell advocate and educator, I was tagged repeatedly on these articles. Despite my initial reluctance to post…
In sickle cell disease, avascular necrosis (AVN) can occur due to the progressive impairment of blood supply to the bones caused by the sickling process. In AVN, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses, as Johns Hopkins Medicine explains. The sickling process can also cause chronic anemia, blood…
As I look back on my two-year journey as a sickle cell disease columnist for Bionews, the parent company of this website, I’m struck by how much I’ve grown and evolved. In fact, I’m extremely proud. It all began in late 2022, when I stumbled upon a job posting…
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