Help millions of people live with less pain and fund groundbreaking research to discover a cure for this devasting disease.
Meet Sara Sani: One of Our Newest Foundation-Sponsored Fellows!
Because access to care is not always guaranteed, we’ve been working to help close the gap on the nation’s rheumatologist shortage through our fellowship initiative. In June, we announced five new fellowship awards for 2018. One of those grant awards was offered to the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) adult rheumatology program. This globally recognized program serves more than 6,000 arthritis patients each year. UCSF awarded their grant to Sara Sani. She grew up on the central coast of California, where she developed a love of the outdoors and trail running. Dr. Sani earned her undergraduate degree in history at ...more
Head to Head With RA
One sultry afternoon in September, Terry Bradshaw was hanging around the horse-training facility on his ranch in Thackerville, Oklahoma, reflecting on turning 70 a few days earlier. “The ride I’ve been on has been an absolute joy,” says Bradshaw. “The good and the bad, all of it.” There has been plenty of good for the legendary Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and award-winning TV personality. He counts appearances in movies and even a few country-western records on his résumé, too. But there has been adversity, as well, from the boos Bradshaw heard as a rookie with the Steelers to his very public struggle ...more
Holiday Travel Can Be a Pain
The holidays are a great time to catch up with friends and spend quality time with family. From parties to special dinners to festive family traditions, this time of year is full of joy and excitement. But if the most important people in your life don’t live nearby, you’ll probably be traveling – and when you live with arthritis, that can often mean pain. Whether it’s cramped airplane seats, unfamiliar beds or even just a lack of movement from a long car trip, your joints can take a beating when you visit friends and family. If you’re planning to travel this ...more
2018 Evening of Honors: Paying Tribute to Top Supporters
An annual highlight of the Arthritis Foundation’s Conference of Champions is our Evening of Honors – a time when we celebrate outstanding achievements of our most engaged volunteers and partners. This year’s ceremony was hosted by Pete Scalia, co-anchor of WBNS 10TV’s “This Morning” news program in Columbus, Ohio. Diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis at age 30, Pete has been very open about the challenges of living with RA and is actively involved with the Arthritis Foundation. We presented Champion Awards to several individuals who stood out most in 2018 for their support of the arthritis community: Teresa Paulsen In Central Ohio, Teresa created ...more
2018 Conference of Champions: Moving the Movement Forward
This weekend, the Arthritis Foundation’s most engaged volunteers from around the country are gathering in Baltimore’s East Harbor for the 2018 Conference of Champions. This annual national event is where hundreds of volunteers – joined by other committed Foundation partners and staff – network with each other, share ideas and get energized around plans that will help more people with arthritis live their best life. Kicking off the conference is Rob Wicall, former San Antonio Spurs Coyote Mascot and chair of that market’s local leadership board for the Arthritis Foundation. Rob will share his own outlook about making others happy and ...more
You Said It: Best Advice From Your Doctor
Pearls of wisdom, encouragement, perspective, no-nonsense tough love. Sometimes when living with a chronic disease like arthritis and searching for a treatment that works, you need some advice. It may come from a dear friend or even a stranger, but many times your arthritis doctor tells you what you need to hear. We asked our readers and followers, “What is the best advice your rheumatologist or arthritis doctor gave you?” I wish I had a magic stick I could wave over you to make it vanish. Sadly, I do not. But I do have a prescription pad and pen, and we ...more
Welcome to Campus: A New Community for Students with Arthritis
Going off to college can be a tough transition for anyone. But if you’re a teen with arthritis, starting college can pose unique challenges: leaving behind family and friends who understand and support your health needs, navigating campus on foot when every step causes pain, watching roommates go out at night when you need sleep just to function and feeling like you’re the only young person in the world with a disease associated with old age. Rachel Mershon and Caroline Bailey know the feeling all too well. Diagnosed with arthritis at age 14, Mershon left home for the first time two ...more
Nurse With Psoriatic Arthritis: “Take Care of Yourself”
As part of our vetting process for Arthritis by the Numbers – a collection of verified arthritis facts and figures – we invited patients to comment on the disease section that most affected their lives. After all, they are the experts on how the disease changes and challenges everyday living. Meet Karen Lomas, 65, who works full-time as a nurse. Following, in her own words, is Karen’s story about living with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which she was diagnosed with several years ago, and how the statistics she reviewed in Arthritis by the Numbers relate to her personally. Question: What do the statistics ...more