By: Madhura Balasubramaniam, Sharan Khela & Tina Aswani-Omprakash Our patient advocate team, SAIA’s IBDesis, were honoured to participate in the American College of Gastroenterology’s (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, USA, between October 25th to October 30th, 2024. As patient advocates, we are grateful for the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in the IBD and GI space more broadly. Here are some of our key takeaways from the conference! Understanding the Treatment Landscape (Madhura Balasubramaniam) Dr. Miguel Regueiro provided a comprehensive overview of the various therapies available today to treat IBD and their safety profile, as illustrated by the safety pyramid: It is very heartening for us…
- Colorectal Surgery, Crohn's, Digital Healthcare Innovations, health equity, Healthcare Disparities, living with IBD, Patient Voice, Ulcerative Colitis
- Crohn's, health equity, Healthcare Disparities, living with IBD, Ostomy, Patient Voice, Stigma, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health
SAIA is proud to announce Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH as our full-time CEO!
SAIA is honoured to announce that Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH, is now our full-time Chief Executive Officer 🎉🎉 Written by Madhura Balasubramaniam, Sharan Khela, Dr. Neilanjan Nandi & SAIA’s Board of Directors Tina is a patient advocate and thought leader par excellence, with several years of experience in spearheading international health advocacy efforts within and beyond the GI space. Tina’s work with Own Your Crohn’s has been groundbreaking for communities of colour, especially the South Asian community, where discussions around inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have historically been clouded by cultural stigmas and misconceptions. Tina brought to light and underscored these hidden cultural considerations that shape healthcare for communities of colour across the world.…
- Crohn's, Disease Prevention, health equity, Intestinal Ultrasound, living with IBD, Ostomy, Ulcerative Colitis
My Real World Experience with Intestinal Ultrasound
Last week, I had my first intestinal ultrasound (IUS). I had been very nervous the last month getting ready to go in for IUS as I’ve been having weird gut symptoms the last few months. My ileoscopy has been scheduled for 3 months out, so my doctor and I decided it might be best to have an IUS done in the meantime. What is IUS you ask? It is a modality that can visualize bowel inflammation, thickening, and fistula tracts in addition to taking a look at severity and extent of inflammation. It doesn’t require bowel prep or gross contrast (!!), it’s not invasive, results can be discussed in real…
- acceptance, advocacy, Black Lives Matter, Caregiving, coping with flares, Crohn's, health equity, Healthcare Disparities, living with IBD, Minority Health, Ulcerative Colitis
~ OYC Trailblazers ~ Amy & Terrell: Crohn-ically Ever After
My name is Amy Btiebet Washington, I’m 34 years old and live in Ohio. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was 26 (in 2012). Initially, I thought I had a terrible flu, but after a few days of symptoms, I was rushed to the hospital with a 106-degree fever. I was immediately treated for sepsis, which led to 5 days in the ICU. After multiple tests, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. The sepsis was a result of a severe infection caused by Crohn’s disease. At the time of my diagnosis, I knew very little about the disease and didn’t know anyone who lived with Crohn’s or ulcerative…
- advocacy, Crohn's, diversity, Gastroparesis, health equity, Healthcare Disparities, Healthcare Marketing, living with IBD, Patient Voice, Ulcerative Colitis, Women's Health
MM&M Transform Talks: Prioritizing the Patient Voice
I recently had the opportunity to work with the MM&M Transform conference on a panel discussion on Prioritizing the Patient Voice in anticipation of their conference on September 29th-30th. A panel of 3 of us patient advocates (Tonya Cherie Hegamin, Type 1 Diabetes; Teresa Johnson, Multiple Sclerosis & Heart Disease; and me, Crohn’s Disease & Gastroparesis) discussed why it’s so important to engage patients in healthcare discussions, from digital health to biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. At the forefront of our conversation was a topic near and dear to all 3 of us: diversity, inclusion and health equity as well as medical accessibility for patients of color like ourselves. Check out our…