What is Living with Mast Cell Patient Support Community?
Living with Mast Cell is a dedicated patient-to-patient support community for families affected by Mast Cell Disorder. Living with Mast Cell is powered by BensFriends.org, patient support communities for rare diseases, and is run by volunteer moderators who have been affected with Mast Cell Disorder.
Who can join Living with Mast Cell Community?
If your family has been affected by Mast Cell Disorder, consider Living with Mast Cell Patient Support Community your second home. Living with Mast Cell Support Community, as well as the rest of BensFriends.org’s patient communities, is free for members to join.
What is Mast Cell Disorder?
Systemic mastocytosis (mas-to-sy-TOE-sis) is a disorder caused by a genetic mutation that results in an excessive number of mast cells in your body. Mast cells normally help protect you from disease and aid in wound healing by releasing substances such as histamine and leukotrienes. But if you have systemic mastocytosis, excess mast cells can build up in your skin, around blood vessels, in your respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, or in reproductive organs. When triggered, these mast cells release substances that can overwhelm your body and result in symptoms such as facial flushing, itching, a rapid heartbeat, abdominal cramps, lightheadedness or even loss of consciousness. Common triggers include alcohol, temperature changes, spicy foods and certain medications.
What is BensFriends.org?
In 2007, Ben Muñoz suffered a rare form of stroke caused by an AVM. He was unable to find the support he needed during the most difficult time, so he created an online support community AVMSurvivors.org to connect with others like him. AVMSurvivors.org led to the founding of BensFriends.org, driven to provide patient-to-patient support communities for people living with rare diseases.
BensFriends.org is a network of patient communities for people living with rare diseases. Launched in November 2007, BensFriends.org provides valuable patient support by creating and running compassionate, responsive communities. BensFriends.org maintains dozens of patient communities and has changed thousands of lives.
You can learn more about BensFriends.org at http://www.bensfriends.org or watch one of our videos at http://www.youtube.com/BensFriendsVideos.