Sickle Cell – A Hematologist’s Perspective #30forSickleCell

30 posts for sickle cell. Learn more about Sickle Cell Awareness #30forSickleCell.

If you have ever been ill then I am sure you understand the importance of finding a good doctor. A good doctor is patient, knowledgeable, compassionate, and caring. One of the doctors I know who fit this description is Dr. John Strouse. He is an amazing hematologist who helps treat pediatric patients with Sickle Cell Disease.

Thank you Dr. Strouse for answering a few questions to give us greater insight about Sickle Cell Disease.

When did you first hear about Sickle Cell Disease? 

I learned about Sickle Cell Disease in high school biology as the first genetic disorder to have the underlying genetic change and protein change understood. 

How did you decide to help patients living with blood disorders including Sickle Cell Disease? 

As a medical student I cared for ~20 children and young adults with sickle cell disease while on a pediatric hematology rotation and was struck by the challenges that the disease presented for the affected individuals and the doctors treating them. I wanted to improve the care for children and adults with sickle cell disease. 

Why is Sickle Cell Awareness important to you?  

Community awareness is essential to support people with sickle cell disease and the programs that can directly improve their health as well as research on better prevention and treatment of the complications of sickle cell disease.

What’s one thing you wished patients knew that could them better manage their Sickle Cell Disorder? 

Problems can be prevented by avoiding exposure to tobacco smoke, other lung irritants, and starting hydroxyurea if they have significant complications from their sickle cell anemia (HbSS or HbSbeta null thalassemia types of sickle cell disease)

Is there one myth that you would like to dispel about people living with Sickle Cell Disease?

While sickle cell disease is a challenge, they can still achieve success, including professional degrees, good jobs, and having families of their own.

Which publications would you recommend people read who want to learn more about the latest healthcare advances regarding Sickle Cell Disease? 

Hope & Destiny: The Patient and Parent's Guide to Sickle Cell Disease and Sickle Cell Trait 3rd (third) editionI like the scinfo.org website supported by the sickle cell program at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and the Hope and Destiny: The Patient and Parent’s Guide to Sickle Cell Disease and Sickle Cell trait-Revised 3rd edition

How are you raising awareness about Sickle Cell Disease and how can others help support this cause? 

I will be participating in the Maryland State Sickle Cell Picnic this Saturday and will be blogging on Tumblr as well as helping to write tweets and content for our Twitter and Facebook page.  I also support several of the local and regional sickle cell foundations including the William E. Proudford Sickle Cell Fund, the Maryland Sickle Cell Disease Association and the Sickle Cell Adult Provider Network

 

With a special interest in blood disorders, John J. Strouse, M.D., Ph.D, is an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hematology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. A graduate of Princeton University, he was a Woodrow Wilson Award recipient, and received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 1996. Following a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Rochester School Of Medicine, he was a fellow in hematology and pediatric oncology at the National Institutes of Health, and a fellow in pediatric hematology/oncology at Johns Hopkins. He received his Ph.D. in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is currently the treasurer of the Sickle Cell Adult Provider Network. Among his chief research interests are the study of the relationship between cerebral blood flow, intellectual development, and stroke in children with sickle cell disease.

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