Did you see purple lights on Sloane Street late on Thursday, October 20?
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Well, that's because the Visitor Information Centre and the Soldiers Club were two of over 150 landmarks and venues across Australia and New Zealand that lit up purple to raise awareness of mastocytosis and mast cell diseases.
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The disease is a broad family of rare diseases that can be life threatening and are very often severely debilitating.
The Australasian Mastocytosis Society's (TAMS) #SpotOurSpots campaign aimed to increase awareness of mast cell disease and to build hope for mast cell disease sufferers all over Australia and New Zealand.
TAMS hoped that would help lead to greater investment in research for more accurate diagnostics and better treatments.
Mast Cell Diseases describe a group of disorders that are caused by the presence of too many overactive mast cells in the body including Mastocytosis, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Hereditary Alpha Tryptasemia (HaT).
Mast cells are integral to our immune systems and ordinarily, they are responsible for things like wound healing and aid in protection from diseases, viruses and everyday allergens.
However, in the case of mast cell disease, their increased population and degranulation results in tremendous suffering and disability due to symptoms from daily mast cell release and/or symptoms arising from infiltration and accumulation of mast cells in our major organ systems.
Symptoms can include rash, severe flushing, swelling, airway obstructions, migraines, cognitive disorientation, musculoskeletal pain, hypotension, gastrointestinal problems and fainting, to life-threatening episodes of anaphylaxis.
TAMS was established due to the overwhelming need for sufferers and their supporters to find a local voice and active support network.
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