| Produced by Best Alternatives, Inc. |
Ossie Davis
Lisa Ellison
Kevin Robinson
Health Choices:
Sickle Cell Anemia…Battling Pain
Many diseases are most common in certain ethnic groups, which is often a
complicating factor when it comes to understanding that disease and then
treating and managing it. A particularly stark example is sickle cell anemia,
a chronic disease that primarily affects African-Americans in the United
States. Management of this disabling condition often runs headlong into
prejudice, a lack of financial resources and some difficult social and medical
realities.
In this one-hour program, Health Choices takes a look at people who suffer
from sickle cell anemia, their families and caregivers. What causes sickle
cell? What are the health problems caused by this genetic disease? How is
it treated and what are prospects for a cure? And we will look at the primary
symptom sickle cell patients must deal with – pain – the many strategies
used to treat this chronic pain and some of the social and economic
problems that can stem from it. Do some physicians decline to prescribe
opium-based pain medications to sickle cell patients because of their color
or social status? Are sickle cell patients under-treated due to lack of
education and misconceptions about the disease? The use of opioids for
pain - controversial from the days doctors prescribed laudanum in the 19th
century to the current concern about oxycontin - what economic and social
realities do sickle cell patients face when they must use these medications
on a daily basis?
Host Dr. Howard Torman guides us through this hour with the help of the
late actor and writer Ossie Davis, who has worked for 50 years to better
educate not just the African-American community, but all Americans, about
this serious disease which affects some 70,000 people and is a source of
concern for the over 2 million others, who have the sickle cell trait that
could be passed on to their children.
This Health Choices program is an awareness project. Research and
information was developed in collaboration with Dr. Russell K. Portenoy,
Chair of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel
Medical Center of New York.
Funding support has been provided by:
Sickle Cell Anemia…Battling Pain
Many diseases are most common in certain ethnic groups, which is often a
complicating factor when it comes to understanding that disease and then
treating and managing it. A particularly stark example is sickle cell anemia,
a chronic disease that primarily affects African-Americans in the United
States. Management of this disabling condition often runs headlong into
prejudice, a lack of financial resources and some difficult social and medical
realities.
In this one-hour program, Health Choices takes a look at people who suffer
from sickle cell anemia, their families and caregivers. What causes sickle
cell? What are the health problems caused by this genetic disease? How is
it treated and what are prospects for a cure? And we will look at the primary
symptom sickle cell patients must deal with – pain – the many strategies
used to treat this chronic pain and some of the social and economic
problems that can stem from it. Do some physicians decline to prescribe
opium-based pain medications to sickle cell patients because of their color
or social status? Are sickle cell patients under-treated due to lack of
education and misconceptions about the disease? The use of opioids for
pain - controversial from the days doctors prescribed laudanum in the 19th
century to the current concern about oxycontin - what economic and social
realities do sickle cell patients face when they must use these medications
on a daily basis?
Host Dr. Howard Torman guides us through this hour with the help of the
late actor and writer Ossie Davis, who has worked for 50 years to better
educate not just the African-American community, but all Americans, about
this serious disease which affects some 70,000 people and is a source of
concern for the over 2 million others, who have the sickle cell trait that
could be passed on to their children.
This Health Choices program is an awareness project. Research and
information was developed in collaboration with Dr. Russell K. Portenoy,
Chair of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel
Medical Center of New York.
Funding support has been provided by:
| Click Here to watch this 58 minute video: (To download a free version of Real Player go to www.real.com) To order VHS copies of this video for $29.95, contact Jessica Singer at JessicaLSinger@yahoo.com or phone (203) 221-0888 |
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Michael Davis
"(Our) staff, Board of
Trustees and some of our
clients/patients have had
the opportunity to view
your video ('Sickle Cell
Anemia...Battling Pain')
and have concluded this
material has clearly
captured the full essence
of this illness, through the
eyes of many"
-American Sickle Cell
Anemia Association
(ASCAA)
Trustees and some of our
clients/patients have had
the opportunity to view
your video ('Sickle Cell
Anemia...Battling Pain')
and have concluded this
material has clearly
captured the full essence
of this illness, through the
eyes of many"
-American Sickle Cell
Anemia Association
(ASCAA)
"Having had the
opportunity to screen
"Sickle Cell
Anemia...Battling Pain"
continuously during our
31st Annual Convention,
the sampling of feedback
from attendees was
extremely positive. The
reaction was indicative of
the need for new material
on the very important
subject of pain and the
unique problems
individuals with sickle cell
disease face when seeking
treatment."
-Sickle Cell Disease
Association of America,
Inc. (SCDAA)
opportunity to screen
"Sickle Cell
Anemia...Battling Pain"
continuously during our
31st Annual Convention,
the sampling of feedback
from attendees was
extremely positive. The
reaction was indicative of
the need for new material
on the very important
subject of pain and the
unique problems
individuals with sickle cell
disease face when seeking
treatment."
-Sickle Cell Disease
Association of America,
Inc. (SCDAA)
Health Choices: Sickle
Cell Anemia...Battling Pain
was recently used as an
educational tool to assist with
the passing of The Sickle Cell
Treatment Act, a bipartisan,
bicameral bill introduced by
Senators Jim Talent (R-MO),
Charles Schumer (D-NY) and
Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and
Representatives Danny K.
Davis (D-IL) and Richard Burr
(R-NC).
Click Here to view a letter of
support from Senator Schumer.
Cell Anemia...Battling Pain
was recently used as an
educational tool to assist with
the passing of The Sickle Cell
Treatment Act, a bipartisan,
bicameral bill introduced by
Senators Jim Talent (R-MO),
Charles Schumer (D-NY) and
Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and
Representatives Danny K.
Davis (D-IL) and Richard Burr
(R-NC).
Click Here to view a letter of
support from Senator Schumer.
"I would like to
congratulate you and your
colleagues on the
production of the program
Health Choices: Sickle Cell
Anemia...Battling Pain.
This show captures the
complex medical and
social issues surrounding
the disease. I applaude the
quality of the information
and the humanity that it
portrays."
-Randall W. Maxey, M.D.
National Medical
Association (NMA)
congratulate you and your
colleagues on the
production of the program
Health Choices: Sickle Cell
Anemia...Battling Pain.
This show captures the
complex medical and
social issues surrounding
the disease. I applaude the
quality of the information
and the humanity that it
portrays."
-Randall W. Maxey, M.D.
National Medical
Association (NMA)