The Fellow on Call: The Heme/Onc Podcast Episode 113: Sickle Cell Series - “Double Duty: A Doctor's Story of Living with Sickle Cell Disease While Caring for Others”
Aug 21, 2024
Titilope Fasipe, MD, PhD, is a physician and researcher who lives with sickle cell disease while caring for patients. She shares her powerful journey from childhood to becoming a medical professional. Dr. Fasipe discusses the complexities of managing her own pain as she advocates for her patients, emphasizing the importance of empathy in healthcare. The conversation also touches on improving sickle cell care in emergency departments and the critical shift needed in perceptions about pain management, aiming to foster understanding and trust.
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Lifelong Sickle Cell Beginnings
- Dr. Titilope Fasipe describes being born in Nigeria and diagnosed after her first pain crisis around age one.
- She recalls lifelong pain, fatigue, slow growth, and feeling different within her family and social life.
Teen Years Marked By Fear And Home Management
- In adolescence and college Dr. Fasipe managed many crises at home and experienced an aplastic crisis at 21 with hemoglobin near two.
- She remembers a persistent fear of dying shaped by earlier messages about limited lifespan.
Pain Is Suffering; Belief Builds Trust
- Dr. Fasipe defines pain as suffering and stresses that disbelief erodes trust and worsens outcomes.
- She explains that teens lose the pediatric safety net and learn to hide suffering to avoid being a burden.