I was 15 years old, just wrapping up gymnastics season and my freshman year of high school, when I got news that flooded my future with uncertainty—after years of battling health issues, I would now need an ostomy bag. I felt scared, sad, and alone.  I remember going into the operating...

In the Falkenstein family, no one struggles alone. In fact, their support for one another led to the writing and recording of an anthem for self-love, “I Found Myself.” This song of perseverance, self-confidence, and hope is written by David Falkenstein, an ulcerative colitis patient an...

When you were diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), you probably went on the internet to research your disease. Within seconds, you had a vast web of information about symptoms, treatments, and other resources at your fingertips.  According to the Pew Internet Project, over ...

Approximately 1 in 500 Americans live with an ostomy, and many of those are patients who have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an ostomy may be needed temporarily or permanently for a variety of reasons, including sudden, severe u...

If you have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, then you know how hard it can be to pay for your medication. A Foundation study found that people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially Crohn’s, pay three times the total health care costs and double the out-of-pocket expens...

Have you received a notification from your insurance carrier that coverage of your specialty medication is changing? If so, you aren’t the only one. Many of my patients who are on biologics have been informed by their insurer that they are now required to switch to a biosimilar. I know ...

Everyone has a mix of microbes in their gut, some of which are beneficial and others that can wreak havoc—especially in people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Thanks, in part, to funding through IBD Ventures (our venture philanthropy program), researchers at Vedanta Bioscie...

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation staff and volunteers were saddened to learn of the passing of Donald (Don) Kortz, a member of our National Board of Trustees, last week. Don and his family first became involved with the Foundation after th...

Receiving a colorectal cancer diagnosis on top of one for IBD may be the last thing a patient wants to hear. A patient’s risk of developing colorectal cancer depends on certain factors, including if they have ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease affecting the colon, they have had IBD f...

Over 141 million people in the United States are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 - 49% of the total population in our country. Although we don’t precisely know vaccination rates among patients with IBD, we are pleased to see many patients getting vaccinated and encouraging their frien...