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…
The Sickle Cell Crusader
— Oluwatosin Adesoye
Adesoye Oluwatosin is a practicing physician, a passionate and award-winning sickle cell advocate, and educator. She’s the founder of Sickle Cell Celebs, an online community for people living with sickle cell disease, and of Sicklelive Foundation, an NGO that caters to people living with sickle cell disease. She’s a Nigerian diagnosed with sickle cell anemia (HBSS) in 1987 when she was just 1 year old. She enjoys using her personal and medical experience to educate and create awareness about sickle cell disease and also help reduce health inequalities in its management. She’s called “The Sickle Cell Crusader.” Her column promises to be expository, educative, and compelling.
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Recently, I’ve been receiving international professional opportunities, which have made me think about a question I’ve avoided for years: What would I do if an opportunity I’ve always dreamed about required me to travel abroad by airplane? What happens when one of your greatest career dreams comes within reach, but…
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…
Recently, I’ve been reflecting on how living with sickle cell disease has affected many of my dreams, goals, and lifestyle choices. Despite the changes, I have continued to dream and pursue my aspirations successfully. The impact of sickle cell disease intensified for me during…
A few weeks ago, I was in excruciating pain in the dead of the night. I’m not one to disturb others when I’m in pain unless it’s severe and I need help to manage it. This night was one of those exceptions, and I had to reluctantly wake up my…
Some of my childhood memories still linger. I vividly remember, for instance, the lonely nights spent in my bed while struggling with a painfully distended abdomen, a discomfort extreme enough to take away many nights of sleep. My bed was in the same room as my parents, yet I was…
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