Exclusif Entertainment August 2014, Issue 5 | Page 28

Sarcoidosis the
Incredible Imitator
…"With the hope of finding a cure, I focus
my energy on promoting awareness for the
cause."
Since my devastating diagnosis of
Pulmonary Sarcoidosis in 1984, I have
become an Advocate & Motivational speaker
to help others understand this illness.
Sarcoidosis is an autoimmune disease that
causes non-cancerous granulomas that
affects any major organ of your body,
particularly in the lungs. It affects
hundreds-of-thousands of men, and women
between the ages of 20yrs-40yrs old. Due

Dorothea McGuire

Founder, Dorothea McGuire Foundation

to the lack ofawareness, most people started to cry and pray. Somehow, I knew I
have never heard of this debilitating was going to be OK. I stayed positive
disease.
through my journey, and continued to
It is very similar to Lupus, and Sjogren’s
syndrome.
One day I had an annoying dry cough that
just would not go away. I thought that I had
the flu because my body was also aching.
One morning I woke up and looked in the
mirror - I looked like a skeleton. I had
drastic weight loss, and suddenly I became
short of breath just doing simple activities. I
knew then something was terribly wrong.
When I went to the local Medical Center for
testing, the doctor said that I needed to be
admitted to the hospital right away. He
thought I had lymphoma. I was scared, and
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pray because I had a daughter to take care
of.
The doctor did a biopsy on my neck
because my lymph nodes were swollen,
and that is when I was officially diagnosed
with sarcoidosis. My Liver, and Spleen was
twice the size it should have been; and as a
result, the doctor then put me on very high
doses of Prednisone to reduce the
inflammation. Thirty years later, I can say
that prayer works. I now use my
experience as an example to help educate
& motivate others globally through faith,
and positive thinking. I am now 56yrs
young, and currently in remission.