Blood disease often goes undiagnosed, untreated

EDITOR:
I am writing to help spread the word regarding a disease that is not well known and goes undiagnosed each day. The disease is called hemochromatosis. Simply put, individuals with hemochromatosis have too much iron in their blood. The most common form of hemochromatosis is genetic or hereditary hemochromatosis.
Some symptoms include increased blood pressure, fatigue, hair loss and weight loss. The way to treat hemochromatosis is by phlebotomy, the procedure used to donate blood. Removing blood from the system helps to reduce the iron levels.
I had never heard about hemochromatosis until July 17, which is the day that my husband Jon Santini Jr. was diagnosed with the disease. Jon has not felt well for over a month and during a basic health assessment for work, he found his blood pressure to be extraordinarily high. Between the elevated blood pressure and constant fatigue, my husband went to his doctor who ran a series of blood tests which found the hemochromatosis.
My husband will likely begin phlebotomy treatments in August when he goes back to the doctor to have his iron levels re-checked. Since my husband was diagnosed, I have spent a great deal of time researching this disease, so that I am educated and can understand what he's going through and how to support him. My husband has encouraged his father to be tested as he could have hemochromatosis and not realize it as he is a regular blood donor.
We also plan to have our 3-year-old son tested once we discuss our concerns with his pediatrician. If hemochromatosis goes untreated, severe organ damage can result because of the excess iron in the blood.
My husband grew up in Salem and was involved in organizations throughout the area. We still have family and friends in the Salem and Youngstown areas.
More information on hemochromatosis, including symptoms and testing, is available at www.americanhs.org, the American Hemochromatosis Society's website.
JODI SANTINI
Plain City, Ohio
National forum neededto rein in health care costs
EDITOR:
Since our country is beginning to get a handle on the border situation, there is another urgent problem we must address. The high cost of health care is reducing our standard of living. And we are all in this together.
Every year our premiums are being raised over and above the rate of inflation. My deductible on each family member is so high this year that I doubt the insurance company will have to make any payments. And we're the lucky ones. We have insurance, at least to cover a catastrophic event.
What exactly is going on here? We need a national forum to discuss what we can do to rein in these costs. With hospitals declaring bankruptcy and laying people off, it's long overdue to pinpoint the problems and not just treat the symptoms by raising our premiums.
I'm sure the president will help us when he gets back from fighting the war in Iraq. Until he does, it's up to the little people to get the ball rolling!
JOHN K. HODGSON
Beaver Township
Take advantage of freeconcerts and events in Valley
EDITOR:
We are so lucky in the Youngstown area to have many free, family-oriented events available to us in the summer. I attended a free concert Sunday night at Julia's Bed and Breakfast in Hubbard that featured Ronnie Navarra as Elvis and a mother-daughter singing duo. It was a delightful, entertaining evening.
The performers involved the audience in their shows and appeared to really enjoy singing for us. I would encourage readers to take advantage of these many summer entertainment events in our area.
LISA McGLAMERY
Poland