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Guidelines for sites linking to mayoclinic.orgIntro: It's a disease that slowly suffocates you. The symptoms mimic those of emphysema, but it's very different. And it only strikes women of child-bearing years. There is no cure for this disease, but there is hope with treatment. More from Mayo Clinic.
| Video | Audio |
| Total running time 1:20 | " ... THAT'S ANOTHER ASPECT." |
| WHEN PATTIE STRAATSMA LEADS A BIBLE STUDY, SHE GAINS STRENGTH TO COPE WITH THE DISEASE THAT SLOWLY ROBBED HER OF HER ABILITY TO BREATHE. | |
Pattie Straatsma Has LAM |
"WE JUST SAY GOD'S BEEN WITH US IN THE PAST AND HE'LL SEE US THROUGH THIS." |
(LYM-FAN'-GEO-LYE-OH-MY-OH MATOSIS) |
THE DISEASE IS CALLED LYMPHANGIOLEIOMYOMATOSIS, OR LAM. PATIENTS LIKE PATTIE CALL THEMSELVES LAM LADIES BECAUSE ONLY WOMEN GET IT. AND DR. CHARLES BURGER SAYS THE DISEASE SLOWLY DESTROYS THIER LUNGS. |
Charles Burger, M.D. Mayo Clinic Pulmonologist |
"THERE ARE SOME SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS THAT ARE IN THE LUNG THAT GROW UNCONTROLABLY. AND UNFORTUNATELY THEY GROW TO THE POINT WHERE THEY OBSTRUCT THE AIRWAYS, OR BRONCHIAL TUBES." |
| GROWTHS, OR CYSTS, OCCUR WHICH CAN RUPTURE; CAUSING WHAT'S CALLED A PNEUMOTHORAX OR COLLAPSED LUNG. | |
Pattie Straatsma Has LAM |
"THAT WAS VERY PAINFUL. I THOUGHT I WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK." |
Standup Vivien Williams Reporting |
TO TRY TO SLOW THE DISEASE, PATTIE WENT ON HORMONE THERAPY AND SHE HAD HER OVARIES REMOVED. THAT'S BECAUSE THE DISEASE IS LIKELY FUELED BY ESTROGEN, MAKING IT A WOMAN'S DISEASE. |
| Charles Burger, M.D. Mayo Clinic Pulmonologist |
"AND IF THEY DON'T RESPOND TO HORMONE THERAPY THEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A LUNG TRANSPLANT." |
| PATTIE HAD A DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT. | |
| Pattie Straatsma | "FEBRUARY 23RD WAS MY SECOND BIRTHDAY." |
| THE DAY HER NEW LUNGS ALLOWED HER TO BREATHE AGAIN. (BREATHS) AND NOW EVERY WEEK AT BIBLE STUDY PATTIE SHARES HER LOVE OF GOD AND SHE CELEBRATES HER NEW CHANCE AT LIFE. | |
| Pattie Straatsma | "AMEN." |
| FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS. |
Tag: Pattie is grateful for her new life and lungs, but having a lung transplant isn't easy. She'll have to take anti-rejection medications all her life. These drugs make her prone to illnesses like the flu, which can be very dangerous to a transplant patient.
Dr. Burger says in addition to attacking the lungs, LAM may also show up in your kidneys or liver. But the main area of concern is the damage to your lungs. And not all patients go on to need transplant. It all depends on how quickly the disease progresses.
To lean more about LAM, log onto our Web site at ...
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