National Rare Disease Day, February 29, 2016

I received an email from a man I've never met whose wife Heather suffered from a rare disease: mesothelioma cancer. She is a survivor and started a blog chronicling her disease and recovery, just like I did on this blog. He said he found me through another site which is a small miracle considering hyperaldosteronism is nothing like mesothelioma other than its rareness. We exchanged some emails and he introduced me to the National Rare Disease website, asking me if I would post something to honor its special day, February 29. I wholeheartedly agreed. 

The National Rare Disease is website that explains what a rare disease is and has a database of good information, including a personal stories page. http://www.rarediseaseday.org/article/get-involved. 

The Get Involved page allows you to share your very own story which in turn could help others who may not know what they have or just received a recent diagnosis and are just starting the arduous process of testing.

Heather Von St. James is a survivor of her rare form of cancer, just like many of you who visit this website. We did not have cancer like she did, but we suffered from a life threatening disease that can easily kill if left untreated. The thing about having a rare disease is the too often lack of research and information for patients who want to educate themselves. Knowledge is power and as a patient, advocacy is crucial. Getting a scary diagnosis is one thing, having a rare disease where there is conflicting and doomsday information on the internet is another. The many and complicated steps Heather had to take are not unlike the steps Conn's patients take to ensure diagnosis and determine if surgery or other forms of therapy is an option. 

To read about Heather's journey, visit: http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather/survivor/#intro

I plan to post the link to the National Rare Disease website to my Facebook page as well. We are fortunate to have new avenues like this to spread helpful information. Hopefully, this site will encourage people to share and meet new friends who can help or be supportive. The more we connect, they more we help the next guy, even if they have other diseases, it still creates a dialogue which gets passed on socially more than we realize.

For my Conn's readers, please continue to contact me for questions on testing, surgery and life after one adrenal. I've met some amazing people who have overcome a lot of struggle and survived the hormone wars. In the meantime, please visit the National Rare Disease website and remember change is happening, The more sites like this that are started, the more our own rare disease has a chance of becoming more visible and mainstream (which I thoroughly believe it already is) and get the attention is deserves.

Thank you Cameron Von St. James for reaching out and tell Heather she is a warrior we could all look up to.