Isabel Healthcare Blog

Answering yes to this question is much more likely than you’d think. The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 25% of the world’s population is affected by anemia, with half of these cases being due to low iron levels – that’s a staggering 2 billion people. If this is the case, why don’t we know more about the condition and why aren’t more people being treated for it? Part of the explanation lies in the fact the symptoms can be non-specific, they can easily be confused with other illnesses, and can come on very gradually. They can also disappear temporarily before returning, perhaps under a slightly different guise. Other sufferers may have visited their doctor complaining they just feel constantly under the weather, as tiredness and lethargy are the most common symptoms, and been told they just have a virus. Pregnant women and those who have recently given birth are most likely to be iron deficient, as are those who have heavy periods. But unfortunately it’s not always just a simple case of getting a blood test as, depending on the type of deficiency you have, your results could be misinterpreted leaving the patient once again with no explanation for their symptoms and putting them down to just ‘life’.

August is the awareness month for Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), an extremely rare and life threatening disease that can develop over mere hours, and is often missed or left untreated for too long. A rare disease is categorized as a disease that affects less than 5 in 10,000 people in the UK, and in the US it is any disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people at any time, which is about 5 in 7,500. SJS affects around 2-6 people in every million, so it certainly passes the rarity test. At Isabel, which started as a charity after the misdiagnosis of a rare disease, we try to shed a light on rare diseases, particularly those that require timely diagnosis, and particularly those that often affect children. In this blogpost we’ll go over the signs and symptoms to spot in SJS, and explain the causes of this serious condition.

Bell’s palsy can be very frightening to experience or witness, and cause great alarm. Over a matter of hours, muscles in the face begin to lose function, and many mistake these temporary symptoms for the more serious condition of a stroke. While not as medically threatening as a stroke, Bell’s palsy, which most commonly occurs in those between the ages of 15 and 45, is an acute condition that should be treated within hours to encourage the best prognosis. In this blogpost we’ll explain the condition further, talk about the symptoms to look out for and how to differentiate between Bell’s palsy and a stroke, and what to expect with treatment and recovery.

Aplastic anemia is a rare life-threatening disorder with hypocellular bone marrow, where the bone marrow cannot make enough new blood cells. This hypocellular bone marrow results in pancytopenia, which is low reticulocyte, granulocyte and platelet counts. We’ve written about pancytopenia before if you’d like to know more about that. Each year between 2-5 people per 1 million are affected by aplastic anemia.  Aplastic anemia occurs most frequently in young adults between 10-25 years old, as well as patients older than 60 years.

With daily reports of rising temperatures due to climate change, it’s no surprise that skin cancers are also on the rise. We wrote only a month ago about how to protect ourselves against the hot summer sun and the potential dangers to look out for, which you can read here. This month, we are looking in more detail at the potential dangers caused by exposure to the sun – or more specifically, skin cancer. As there are two different categories of skin cancer, each with their own characteristics , there is a lot of confusion about just how dangerous skin cancer can be with many thinking a suspicious-looking mole can be easily removed with no further complications. Luckily this is the most common scenario, but as we will see, some skin cancers can have much more serious implications.

This blogpost is another instalment of our in-depth look at specific blood cancers. We’ve written an overview of blood cancers, touching on the 3 main types. We have written posts about Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and leukemia. This week, we’re going into more detail with myeloma, a type of blood cancer inside the bone marrow. We’ll go over the definitions, types, and symptoms of myeloma, as well as helping you know what treatments are available and how to get help if you are concerned.

This week on the Isabel Healthcare blog we’re tackling the confusing and often daunting world of the thyroid. A lot of us will probably have heard of or come across thyroid conditions in the past, be that underactive, overactive, or even the rare thyroid cancer. But what’s the difference, what does it all mean, and most importantly, what are the symptoms we can be looking out for? We’ll also go over who’s at higher risk of developing thyroid problems and the treatments that are available.

The National Cancer Institute defines healthcare disparities as ‘differences in the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of a disease and the related adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups.’  It has been noted that disparities often exist for gynecologic cancers when considering and diagnosing these conditions. Gynecologic cancer is any cancer that originates in a female’s reproductive organs.  The five types of gynecologic cancers are:

At the end of June, Nixon Whatcott from Utah, USA, passed away after an 18 month fight against bone cancer. He was just 7 years old.  Because of his age, his parents assumed the pain in his leg was just ‘growing pains’ but a visit to his local hospital later revealed cancerous tumours on his leg leading to a final diagnosis of osteosarcoma, one of the most common forms of bone cancer. If the cancer hasn’t spread, survival rates of osteosarcoma can be up to 75%. Sadly Nixon’s cancer had already spread to his lungs and abdomen, reducing his chances to 30%, and after several rounds of chemotherapy, Nixon lost his battle.

Every month we try to highlight a monthly observance and raise awareness for a cause in the medical field. July is women with alopecia month in the US, and we’re giving you the ins and outs of this condition, covering what is known about the types and causes of alopecia.