Priscilla’s psoriasis healing story

Psoriasis patient Priscilla discusses BIPOC representation in treatment and misdiagnosis. A black female doctor recognized the difference psoriasis skin presentation and her treatment helped Priscilla on many levels.

Transcript

00:00

Today, having psoriasis, as a Black woman, there isn't a lot of representation

00:07

for us to receive care. [MUSIC PLAYING] It is a battle of the mind, of the spirit, and of the flesh

00:18

because psoriasis is internal and external. Psoriasis isn't something that's generally

00:27

an issue for African-Americans. And I believe that that is why I was misdiagnosed with eczema for so long.

00:34

It wasn't something that was on my radar, on my parents' radar, or even on my doctor's radar.

00:41

I was first diagnosed around 9, 10 years old with eczema. I had these large, scale, flaky rashes on my skin.

00:52

I was receiving improper treatment. So nothing was working. I spent about three years going to different primary care

01:02

physicians until I was finally referred to a dermatologist who was a Black woman.

01:10

She saw that it was not eczema, that it was psoriasis, and put me on a treatment plan, which changed my life.

01:19

She saw me in a way that I hadn't felt before. She heard my pain because she knew my pain as a Black woman.

01:28

So I didn't have to convince her that something was wrong with me. To have someone acknowledge that and just

01:38

breathe life into a terrible situation really changed my trajectory.

01:45

There is a power in community and connection. When you have a chronic illness, you're

01:53

in a very vulnerable state. And being in those positions with someone who I don't have to explain my identity or my pain

02:04

or my culture to, it creates a sense of comfort and peace

02:11

and ease. And I believe that that connection and that community outside of the medicine can really help heal and bring

02:25

wellness to any community. [AUDIO LOGO]