Bernie Mac was a sad loss
Sometimes, a comedian just hits the right note of humor and intelligence to pass through the television screen and feel like a real human being. There’s an archness about their performance. Bernie Mac was a rare talent. Although the official cause of death this August was pneumonia, he had been fighting sarcoidosis for many years. This is an autoimmune disease that, somewhat unfairly, operates along racial lines. Black Americans are sixteen times more likely to die than white Americans. There is no cure for this disease. It can affect any part of the body where groups of cells clump together. Where these so-called granulomas occur, the body is damaged. The standard treatment is Prednisone. This corticosteroid modifies the immune system, reduces inflammation and, in many cases, induces remission. Bernie Mac had been in remission for some three years before his death. Although there are some side effects if you take a steroid like Prednisone medication over longer periods of time, e.g. an increase in body weight, fluid retention, etc. these are prices worth paying for those with this disease. Often affecting the lungs and leaving you breathless, people are left without energy. If it enters the heart or brain, you get symptoms mimicking a stroke or seizures. That Bernie Mac kept going and entertained so many for so long is a testament to the kind of man he was and the therapeutic quality of Prednisone.
Tags: Prednisone
