Test your knowledge. What do you know about Sickle cell anemia? Do you know what it is? Could you describe it in three to four sentences possibly? Chances are you have never even heard of this or know what it may be and that’s ok. Another odd chance is that you didn’t know that September is the awareness month, but unlike cancer, there is less support and acknowledgement. This is not to point fingers about who knows and who doesn’t. It is likely possible that you were never told. Cancer discriminates against no race, gender or age. Sickle cell, on the other hand is more common amongst African Americans and Hispanics. Like cancer, sickle cell anemia can be terminal but also thankfully managed depending upon the degree of the disease. Sickle cell is an non cancerous blood disease where an abnormal hemoglobin causes circular blood cells to become in the shape of a sickle or maybe more understood as a crescent moon shape as shown below.
Once your blood cells form this shape, it is unable to freely flow through the blood vessel. The sickle cells begin to stick, causing a congestion in the blood vessel. With this congestion comes lack of oxygen which forms attacks of sudden pain known as a crisis. A crisis often needs immediate medical attention which can cause the patient to spend various days in he hospital. Over time, the sickling of cells can lead to organ damage because of the lack of oxygen flow, as well as destroy other aspects of the body. The severity of the disease varies from person to person. No matter who, the person’s life is changed drastically. Since the disease can cause chronic pain at various times, the body is unable to keep up with routine activities constantly and has trouble with being active. If you are familiar with the R&B girl group, TLC and have watched their film CrazySexyCool, then you may have an idea of what a crisis looks like. During the film, it shows how the member, T-Boz was unable to perform some of the shows on tour due to her immediate need of medical attention.
People affected by Sickle cell anemia have a hard time staying encouraged and can often find themselves feeling down about the state of their health. To help encourage and strengthen, commonly, communities will be led by a nonprofit organization or hospital which arranges events, conferences and speakers to get the families more involved. This also can encourage the younger children which are affected by this disease to not let the disease to take control of their spirit. Much like other diseases, the trait of sickle cell anemia is able to be passed down to the child, but isn’t confirmed until the child is tested after birth.
A nonprofit organization called “Bold Lips for Sickle Cell” entourages females to post social media selfies with a lipstick on, hash tagging the organization name to try and get people aware of the existence of Sickle cell anemia and find a care for it.
If you are interested in further research about this disease, you can visit the Ohio State University comprehensive cancer center here: http://cancer.osu.edu/cancer-specialties/cancer-care-and-treatment/sickle-cell-anemia