Celtic Curse — Fighting to End Celtic Curse: Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HHC), also known as Genetic Haemochromatosis, Iron Overload, and Bronze Diabetes

Save Lives! Defeat Hereditary Hemochromatosis

by Stephen Cobb on July 5, 2010

Fight Celtic Curse Ernest Hemingway died 50 years ago this month, a victim of hereditary hemochromatosis. The mission of this website is saving lives by raising awareness of hemochromatosis, the most widespread genetic killer of all. This frequently under-diagnosed condition causes crippling disabilities such as: …continued…

Hemochromatosis Blood: An untapped national resource?

July 23, 2011

So here’s your chance to help expand our nation’s blood supply. Just hand your doctor or nurse or blood clinic staff this professional, medically reviewed information about hemochromatosis, a condition that comes with one amazing benefit: Treatment involves giving blood! That’s healthy, bankable blood for the country’s blood supply.

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Deadly Ignorance: 13 million Americans have hemochromatosis, but most have never heard of it

July 13, 2011

Ignorance of hemochromatosis kills countless thousands of Americans every year. Some 13 million Americans are at risk, yet most have never heard of it. Tragically, if you do not treat hemochromatosis it can cause toxic levels of iron to build up in your body and lead to liver cancer, cardiomyopathy, and diabetes, to name but a few of the potentially life-ending complications of this inherited condition.

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Hemingway’s Death and Hemochromatosis Awareness

July 2, 2011

Ernest Hemingway died from hereditary hemochromatosis on July 2, 1961, exactly 50 years ago today. You might have read that Hemingway died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but hereditary hemochromatosis–also known as HHC, iron overload, bronze diabetes and Celtic Curse–was undoubtedly the underlying cause of his death. Quite by coincidence, July is Hemochromatosis Awareness Month in America, time to raise awareness of the most common genetic killer in America.

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Cirrhosis, Alcohol, Ignorance and Prejudice: Welcome to the dark world of hereditary hemochromatosis

June 17, 2011

Imagine the shock of getting a call from the intensive care unit of your local hospital telling you that your brother has been admitted. The doctor says your brother is delirious and combative and “in the throes of advanced alcoholism.” Furthermore, he has cirrhosis of the liver, internal bleeding, and ketoacidosis—a medical emergency in which [...]

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Welcome to Ireland President Obama: How’s your hemochromatosis?

May 23, 2011

President Obama arrived in Ireland today and although the main focus of his visit is diplomacy, he is also set to connect with his Irish roots. He will visit the village of Moneygall in County Offaly, home to just under 300 people, some of whom are distant relatives of the President (as reported by Christian [...]

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New Hemochromatosis Links, Blogs, Interviews, Discussions

May 1, 2011

This post is a quick update to let you know we’re still here and still working on raising awareness of hemochromatosis, even though the twin demands of the “day job” and coping with HH have been taking up most of our time (that’s why there’s no fancy image to go with this post). Fortunately, we [...]

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Protect Genetic Testing: Petition the FDA

March 16, 2011

A simple genetic test is all it takes to know if hereditary hemochromatosis, the most common genetic killer in America, is in your genes. Your doctor can order this test or you can order the test yourself, direct from a reputable testing service. But that may change. The Food and Drug Administration is seriously considering [...]

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Comments to the FDA Meeting on Consumer Access to Genetic Tests

March 1, 2011

The following comments were submitted to the Food and Drug Administration by Stephen Cobb, in preparation for the planned meeting of the Molecular and Clinical Genetics Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee, said meeting to be held March 8-9, 2011, to discuss issues surrounding direct-to-consumer access to genetic testing. FDA Comment Tracking Number: 80bfb28b [...]

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Let’s Defeat Hemochromatosis in 2011

February 22, 2011

Defeating hemochromatosis begins with awareness. Stephen Cobb encourages everyone to tell ten people about hemochromatosis this year, and if everyone of them tells ten people, then 2011 could turn the tide against this deadly genetic condition.

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Coffee, Tea, Fe? The truth about meal-time iron absorption

December 30, 2010

Does drinking coffee or tea with a meal reduce the amount of iron your body absorbs from the meal? That question is the subject of this post and a matter of concern for two groups of people: those with too much iron, like hemochromatosis sufferers, and those with not enough iron, like people with anemia. [...]

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The Iron Conference Report and Some Celtic Curse Support Notes

November 5, 2010

This is the first version of a post that will become longer when I get a chance to write more. As some readers will have noted from my tweets ( follow @CelticCurse on Twitter) the second weekend of October put me in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Iron Conference, an event put together by the Iron [...]

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Dealing with The Damage Done: A recurring theme in hemochromatosis victims

October 5, 2010

I want to talk about an aspect of hemochromatosis that I refer to as “The Damage Done.” When I read the comments on this blog and on the Hemochromatosis page on Facebook, they bring home to me the fact that there is a whole other side to hemochromatosis awareness. You might even call it the [...]

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