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National Scleroderma Awareness Month

June is National Scleroderma Awareness month and while scleroderma is another one of those diseases with a funny name, actor, comedian, and scleroderma activist Robin Williams will tell you, "You can make up a joke about almost anything, but to tell you the truth, there isn't even one tiny aspect of this disease which lends itself to humor." What I will tell you is that most people don't realize that scleroderma is a rheumatic disease, the cause of which is unknown, but which definitely takes a rheumatologist to diagnose and treat the many forms this disease takes. The localized type often affects skin tissue and can be severe, leaving visible skin damage. The systematic type can affect blood vessels and major organs and can be life-threatening. 300,000 people suffer from the combined forms of this illness. One early sign of the disease is fingers and toes that turn white, blue, and then red when exposed to the cold. Sadly 80% of scleroderma cases attack women in their childbearing ages but men experience it as well. As Robin William goes on to say, "Scleroderma is a horrible disease with nothing to recommend it, other than the incredible courage which its victims muster in the face of overwhelming odds and terrible suffering."

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