At Health Stories Project, empowering patients and caregivers to share their authentic health journeys is at the heart of our business. Only from understanding such a journey – which is different for every person we encounter – can we authoritatively recommend strategies to…
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Performer and multiple sclerosis advocate Brittany Quiroz is keeping it real—and empowering others. If all the world is a stage, as William Shakespeare’s Jacques asserted around 400 years ago, most of us are metaphorical bit players whose challenges and dreams don’t factor into…
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Diane was diagnosed with psoriasis in 1963, a condition no one had ever seen in the town she was growing up in. She experienced situations she doesn’t want others to live through, so she now advocates for others living with the same conditions…
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Isabel M. from Chaps, New Mexico is living with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or hEDS. At the age of 22, she’s already seen a lifetime of diagnoses. She’s spent half of the past 2 years recovering from 5 surgeries and at the time of…
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Heidi P. from Ohio, sent us the following story. Like 3,000 other community members, Heidi has multiple sclerosis (MS), and was diagnosed 29 years ago in 1992. Her MS story reflects what so many others who have chronic autoimmune conditions have told us….
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Right now, the world is a scary and uncertain place. From disrupted treatment, lost work and wages, healthcare rationing, social isolation, and subsequent depression, the coronavirus (COVID-19) is disrupting the lives of every person in the U.S. (and the world!). These issues are…
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When Health Stories Project invited readers to share their experiences with lupus, we received a lot of responses, which ranged from humorous to heartbreaking. Lupus, a long-term autoimmune disease in which the immune system goes haywire and attacks healthy tissue, affects everybody differently…
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Not even the rudest of trolls can stop Tinu Abayomi-Paul a patient activist who lives with cancer and multiple disabilities. She spends her time creating helpful resources for others and speaking out about chronic illness, civic duty, and life as a black woman.
We wanted to know how the “opioid crisis” was effecting people in our community, so we sent out a call looking for people living with chronic pain who are taking or have been prescribed opioid pain treatment who wanted to share their thoughts and opinions.
“When you’re going through something as significant as cancer or depression, having a space you love is so important.”
Applying for disability wasn’t an easy decision for Erica Carrasco, the migraine blogger behind Achy Smile. She’d been a go-getter her whole life, but had suffered from increasingly severe headaches as an adult that eventually derailed her career. There was nothing left to…
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When Smiley the Blind Therapy Dog recently passed away at 15 years old after a long fight with cancer, thousands of people posted messages of grief across social media. The passing of Smiley was quite tough for people to take in, but knowing…
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This comic by Tatiana Gill was inspired by comments from our community. Have you been affected by a chronic health condition? Sign up to share your experiences with Health Stories Project!
Smartphones and other web-connected devices have changed the way we live, putting a vast amount of information at our fingertips, entertaining us, and making countless tasks easier, including keeping tabs on health issues and wellness goals. They’re also expanding the ways in which…
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It might start with a throb behind your eye. Or maybe you see an aura; a bright spot or some other change in your vision. Perhaps you just get nauseated suddenly. Sometimes bright lights or sounds become all-of-a-sudden intolerable. Migraine headaches are experienced…
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When it comes to your health and happiness, a take-charge attitude can make a huge difference. There’s nothing selfish about self-care, which simply means actively taking care of you, whether it’s following a nutritious diet, practicing meditation, or indulging in a few hours…
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We deliver new health stories each week! –> Many people who live with a chronic illness find that there are few genuine distractions from the pain and inconvenience that come with being sick. This might be why so many patients turn to art…
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We first met Jim and learned his story when he signed up to participate in a virtual patient panel. If you’re interested in sharing your story and hearing about opportunities like the one Jim had, sign up to share your story. “This is…
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You can’t put Charles Mattocks in just one box: actor, award-winning director, chef – he’s embraced a lot of roles in his life. One that’s most important to him personally, though, is his role as a health advocate, for both type 2 diabetes…
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It’s easier to talk about physical scars than emotional ones, but life with a chronic illness like Hidradenitis supporativa (HS) isn’t just about physical pain. Hidradenitis supporativa can leave unseen wounds that are just as serious and bothersome as their physical counterparts. In fact,…
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Health Stories Project was created to give people opportunities to share their personal health experiences and to learn from the experiences of others.