interviews

"For most medical professionals, solving the complex problem of psoriasis is a job. They do not have to think about psoriasis during the weekends and the holidays or while they are on vacation. However, for me, it is very personal and it is my life. There is no time off from dealing with psoriasis."

"I think a cure for psoriasis is within our grasp and that it is just a matter of time. The reason for this optimism is that the pace of our understanding of this disease is accelerating tremendously."

"We are focusing on cementing our reputation as the "go to" organization for all things psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis."

"This is such an important time for our community to have a voice in health care reform, and  I plan to be right there. I don't ever want my children or grandchildren to have the painful experiences I have endured in my life."

"I've never promoted the group in any way, and each time we hit a major milestone I think back to the first year when we had fewer than 100 members and am amazed."

"I knew that many of these images may be quite disturbing or shocking for many people, especially those without the disease, and it was from here that I came up with the domain name ShockingPsoriasis.com."

"When I arrived I was pulled aside by a manager and told there had been complaints from other [cribbage] players about my appearance, and please don't go into the room."

"Believing poetry might be in my genes (although my mother has little use for it), I began writing thank-you notes in verse. Later, reading a lot of poetry and realizing how much there was to it, I got more serious about it, although given the choice, I still prefer humor to gravity."

"When I embarked upon my own diet change I was personally overwhelmed by the amount of time required to learn the shortcuts of this way of eating in the midst of a busy lifestyle."

"I would ask everyone to consider being part of the BioBank. You can learn more about the BioBank and register online at www.psoriasis.org/biobank."

"You can educate yourself until the facts about psoriasis and the treatment options that are available become familiar territory. After that it becomes a matter of personal choice."

"Talking face-to-face with others who share the challenge of dealing with these diseases offers a unique sense of belonging and community that can't be duplicated in any other way."

"Clearly, these illnesses have invested themselves so thoroughly into my life that I could never be 'detached' in my perspective."

"The omission of psoriasis from WHO's list of recognized diseases infers that they might currently be unaware of the devastation psoriasis causes."

"The Psoriasis Hall of Pshame was maybe like putting shrunken heads on spikes around the tribal village to make poachers think twice about tromping through our sacred ground."

"In no uncertain terms, I have never helped, alleviated, or healed a patient with psoriasis or eczema if they DIDN'T follow the diet."

"If I were doing this job 10 or even 5 years ago, I think the challenge would be much more difficult. Today, we are at the right place at the right time."

"We don't even know if psoriasis itself is 'one disease' or one rash caused by a multiplicity of different genetic and environmental risk factors."

"The psoriasis community missed out entirely on the biggest increase in biomedical research funding in world history. This is what most haunts me."