Raising Awareness about psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis at the Icahn School of Medicine. Dermatologists from Brazil inquisitive about treatments and our disease state. Dr. Mark Lebwohl and Dr. Jeffery Weinberg from Mt. Sinai Hospital led the class. I was honored to be in their presence. The patient advocates who shared their personal experiences living with the disease, bottom row, Todd Bello , Jo Jo Feder, Christina Tom, and Susan Freeman. We all belong to the National Psoriasis Foundation which is the largest advocacy group for psoriatic patients. Www.psoriasis.org
Volunteers are those who find the courage to transform the challenges and frustrations of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis into positive action. Volunteers are the faces and voices of the National Psoriasis Foundation’s work.
At our National Volunteer Conference, the Foundation recognizes several outstanding volunteers. These individuals bring creativity and commitment to fulfilling our mission. The result: Deep community impact that cannot be measured by numbers or dollars alone.
Please join us in celebrating these volunteer leaders. Their extraordinary efforts symbolize the thousands of other volunteers who embody the mission of the National Psoriasis Foundation, and who give us all hope that one day we will find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
NPF Volunteer Finalist Todd Bello
Todd Bello
Long Island, New York
Todd works tirelessly to create awareness for psoriatic disease and help those affected. He runs a psoriasis support page on Facebook called “Overcoming Psoriasis.” He dedicates his time to reaching out to others and provides information, support and experience in dealing with all the challenges of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. His smile can lighten anyone’s day and his positive attitude is truly inspirational.
Todd also assists others with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis through his participation in the Psoriasis One to One mentor program. He has become a fixture of the National Psoriasis Foundation New York Community Division and all its events, including fundraisers and educational seminars.
Todd has taken initiative to help in any way he can let others know about NPF resources. Todd’s passion and enthusiasm is contagious and he lifts the spirits of everyone he comes into contact with. Todd is a born leader who volunteers out of a deep passion for helping others and alleviating suffering.
While patients struggle to battle their psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis at home, pharmaceutical companies battle for the best medication in the market place. What does this mean for the psoriatic? Well it means better treatments are on the horizon. It means there is hope for future generations. It means greater quality of life and less itching and scratching for the psoriasis community. Its a win/win for us patients and the world at large. Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis cost tax payers 35 billion dollars in lost wages and disabilities. People with this disease are often paralyzed in society due to the visible lesions on the skin. The publics misconception is that Psoriasis is “contagious” and “its just a skin condition.” Recently great efforts have been established to change those false beliefs. I read this article that was publicized by FiercePharma. I’m delighted, as we all should be, that Pharmaceutical companies are investing billions to find the best medication to treat this disease state. Here is a excerpt of their article.
Patients skin before and after on Cosentyx
“J&J recently completed their Phase III enrollment for guselkumab, putting them in head-to-head competition with a full slate of competitors. One of those rivals is brodalumab, a drug that had wrapped three successful late-stage studies and was cited as a likely blockbuster by AstraZeneca ($AZN). But just as Amgen ($AMGN) and AstraZeneca were prepping their regulatory filings, Amgen decided to drop out of the deal, citing evidence of suicidal thinking in the data that it believes will put the therapy at a competitive disadvantage if it hits the market.
Brodalumab had no trouble beating Stelara in studies, but that’s not the competition that Amgen has in mind. Novartis is already well in front with its IL-17 program for secukinumab, approved in January as Cosentyx , Eli Lilly ($LLY) has also been racking up positive late-stage studies for its IL-17-blocking ixekizumab, trailed by Merck’s ($MRK) MK-3222 and J&J’s guselkumab.”
While pharma competes for market share, the psoriasis patient gains better treatments. Its a win/win for everyone. Not only that, society as a whole moves forward by decreasing the revenues needed to subsidize the cost from this debilitating disease. As a patient advocate I hear from many sufferers around the world. they are depending on our innovations to improve their lives. This is an example how capitalism does work. Science will find a cure and many autoimmune diseases will benefit. Over the twenty four years I struggled with this disease I see the improvements being made. I’m excited to see what develops in the years ahead. Feel free to join the conversation at Overcoming Psoriasis and Psoriasis Campaign for a Cure.
Overcoming Psoriasis 