Cynthia Yoshimura is a paralegal at Actelion, part-time law student, and on June 5, will bike in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon as a member of the Actelion Athletes team. As mentioned in last week's article (
click here), this group of athletes will swim, bike and run to raise awareness of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), sometimes also known as pulmonary hypertension (PH), which is a lung condition that can affect up to 60 percent of people with scleroderma.
Despite not having ridden a bicycle since her childhood, 17 years ago, Cynthia was inspired to take up the challenge of the Bike 4 Breath race sponsored by Breathe California. It was during this race that she realized two very important things. First, she learned the importance of small victories. The big picture of finishing the race was important but the little victories - every hill, every lamppost - helped motivate her along the way. She also realized that her experience and satisfaction came from not just meeting her own personal goals, but participating in something meaningful and bigger than her. When Cynthia joined with her colleagues in the Actelion Athletes program, she brought that philosophy with her and is excited about dedicating her portion of the triathlon to the Scleroderma Foundation.
"Scleroderma patients have a lot of battles to fight every day and understand what it means to celebrate every victory, no matter how big or small," said Cynthia. "Being able to bring some attention to that through my participation in the race is truly an honor for me and I am grateful the Scleroderma Foundation is letting us represent them during the race; we will make you proud!"
Help cheer on Cynthia and her team - ActeliAthletes as they continue their training for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon by posting words of encouragement on our
Twitter and
Facebook pages.
We are pleased to announce that actress Kellie Martin ("Life Goes On," "Christy," and "ER") will be spreading the word about scleroderma in June for Scleroderma Awareness Month. Kellie will Tweet scleroderma facts and ways to get involved to help find a cure throughout the month. 
Vallerie McLaughlin, M.D., will present a Grand Lecture on "Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Scleroderma" at the National Patient Education Conference in San Francisco July 8-10. 
Pfizer Inc. announced that Revatio® (sildenafil citrate) has been approved by the European Commission for the treatment of pediatric patients aged 1 to 17 years old with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Efficacy in terms of improvement of exercise capacity or pulmonary hemodynamics has been shown in primary pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease.
Want to know why you're coughing? Most commonly the culprit is post-nasal drip due to allergies, but asthma, acid reflux or a reaction to medications could also be to blame. 
