You couldn’t breathe, you had swollen lymph nodes and a cough that would not go away. You go to the doctor and had some test done. You are told you have sarcoidosis. Now what?
Sacrcoidosis is an inflammatory disease of unknown origin that leads to the formation of lumps called granulomas in the organs. If severe enough, these granulomas can lead to the impairment of the affected organ.
Most commonly, sarcoidosis affects the:
- lungs,
- lymph nodes,
- eyes.
- and skin.
This disease can also affect the:
- liver,
- spleen,
- brain,
- nerves,
- and heart.
Sarcoidosis can be temporary, but also can lead to permanent organ damage.
As with so many chronic diseases, navigating through all the different elements can not only be frustrating, but scary as well. Life and Breath Foundation offers a place for individuals affected by sarcoidosis to find help and guidance.
This foundation is also focused on increasing awareness of this disease within the medical community in order to foster more successful patient care.
Life and Breath provides an extremely informative web page for patients and loved ones to utilize in their journey to combat this disease. Even for someone as computer challenged as myself, I found this page very organized and easy to navigate!
It included understandable disease information including diagnosis, treatment, symptoms, coping tools, as well as actual personal stories of other individuals battling the disease. There is also information on the issues surrounding disability and insurance struggles, which as many of us know, seems to only compound what you are already faced with.
It is not always easy, especially with the status of health care as it is, to always get the help, guidance, and support one needs to cope with the day to day struggles a chronic illness brings.
Life and Breath is a great place for patients and loved ones as well to go to for the tools they need to get started on a successful path through the battle with sarcoidosis.
